OPERATION EVALUATION Nepal, Country Programme, 200319: a Mid-Term Evaluation of WFP’S Operation (2013-2017) Evaluation Report

Measuring results, sharing lessons sharing results, Measuring

OPERATION EVALUATION Nepal, Country Programme, 200319: A mid-term evaluation of WFP’s Operation (2013-2017) Evaluation Report

December, 2016 Evaluation team: Tamsin Walters, Team Leader; Ivan Scott, Evaluator; Irada Gautam, Evaluator; Nathan Horst, Data Analyst Evaluation Manager: Margaret Stansberry

Commissioned by the WFP Office of Evaluation

Report number: OEV/2016/006

Acknowledgements

The evaluation team would like to thank the WFP Nepal Country Office and Area Office staff for their efficient facilitation of the evaluation process. The staff generously afforded their time to support the team with excellent planning and logistics as well as timely provision of relevant information. We extend particular thanks to Kanta Khanal and Sikha Thapa in the CO, as well as to Achyut Thapa, Binod Dev Bhatta, Chija Bhandari and others who accompanied and supported us throughout visits in Jumla, Achham and Dailekh respectively. Our gratitude also goes to all stakeholders (the beneficiaries, Government authorities, donor community, United Nations agencies, co-operating partners and non-governmental organisations), who dedicated their time to participate in informative discussions and contributed significantly to the findings of the evaluation.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed are those of the Evaluation Team, and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Food Programme. Responsibility for the opinions expressed in this report rests solely with the authors. Publication of this document does not imply endorsement by WFP of the opinions expressed.

The designation employed and the presentation of material in the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WFP concerning the legal or constitutional status of any country, territory or sea area, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers.

Evaluation Commissioning

Evaluation Manager: Margaret Stansberry, KonTerra Evaluation Nepal CO focal point: Kanta Khanal, WFP Operations Evaluations OEV Focal Point: Filippo Pompili, WFP Operation Evaluations OEV Manager: Elise Benoit, WFP

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Operational Factsheet ...... iv

Map ...... xiv

Executive Summary ...... xv A. Introduction ...... xv B. Key Findings ...... xvi C. Overall assessment ...... xviii D. Recommendations ...... xviii

1. Introduction ...... 1 1.1. Evaluation Features ...... 1 1.2. Country Context ...... 3 1.3. Operation Overview ...... 6

2. Evaluation Findings ...... 10 2.1. Appropriateness of the Operation ...... 10 2.2. Results of the Operation ...... 19 2.3. Factors Affecting the Results ...... 32

3. Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 35 3.1. Overall Assessment ...... 35 3.2 Recommendations ...... 38

Annexes ...... 43 Annex 1: Acronyms ...... 43 Annex 2: Stakeholders Consulted ...... 46 Annex 3: Evaluation Matrix ...... 49 Annex 4: Site Visits and Field Schedule ...... 61 Annex 5: Terms of Reference (ToR) ...... 69 Annex 6: Reflections on livelihoods, food security, and public works in the Mid and Far West districts ...... 89 Annex 7: Children’s Song on prevention of early marriage ...... 99 Annex 8: Bibliography ...... 100

List of Figures

Figure 1. Funding Situation ...... v Figure 2. Contributions Received (US$) ...... v Figure 3. Funding Levels by Year (US$) with percent funded vs required ...... v Figure 4: % of planned beneficiaries ...... v Figure 5. % of actual beneficiaries by activity ...... v Figure 6. Male vs. Female Beneficiaries by Activity & Year: Planned vs. Actual ...... vi Figure 7. Planned vs. Actual beneficiaries by year, activity, and sex ...... vii Figure 8. % of beneficiaries reached vs. planned by activity and year ...... viii Figure 9. Total Planned vs. Actual Beneficiaries by Year ...... viii Figure 10. Planned vs. Actual Distributions/Year (MT) ...... viii

Figure 11. Planned vs. Actual MT transferred per year, by activity ...... ix Figure 12. % of food requirements by component ...... x Figure 13. % of food distributed by component ...... x Figure 14. Actual vs. Planned Total Value of Cash Transfers Distributed ...... x Figure 15: WFP Education Support Interventions ...... 8 Figure 16. Districts covered by activities of Education support ...... 8 Figure 17: FFA beneficiary targets and actuals: 2010-2015 ...... 19 Figure 18: Person days of work from selected sites...... 20 Figure 19: RCIW household earnings from sites visited ...... 20 Figure 20: Kriged Predicts on Access ...... 90 Figure 21: Kriged Predictions of Average FCS ...... 92 Figure 22: Households reporting # of days without enough resources to buy food in last 30 days; by consumption quintiles...... 93 Figure 23: Public Works by Income Quintiles ...... 95 Figure 24: Outstanding Loans by Quintile ...... 95 Figure 25: Household with Migrants in Past Two Years ...... 96 Figure 26: Migrant Desintations by PWP ...... 96 Figure 27: Reasons for Migration ...... 97 Figure 28: Remittance Income by Consumption Quintile ...... 97

List of Tables

Table 1. Operational Factsheet ...... iv Table 2: Comparison of achievements of two rural roads ...... 22 Table 3: Participation in MCHN distributions over 6 month’s period by age group .. 29 Table 4: Sites selected for field visits with details of projects and accessibility ...... 68

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Operational Factsheet Table 1. Operational Factsheet

OPERATION Type/Number/Title Country Programme Nepal 200319 (2013-2017) Approval 14/11/2012 BR1:

 Increase beneficiary numbers by 5,000 under Component 2;

 Include two new commodities (rice and sugar) under Component 2;  Adjust planned tonnage with an overall decrease in food quantity and food value by 11,650 mt and US$13,487,696 respectively;  Revise the landside transport, storage and handling (LTSH) rate for Component 3 from US$207.05/mt to US$739.88/mt, with a total additional value of US$3,193,750;

Amendments  Increase external transport by US$4,055,121;  Increase the capacity development & augmentation (CD&A) budget by US$2,164,042; and  Increase indirect support costs (ISC) by US$61,942. Duration Initial: Revised: 1 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2017 (PD) 1 Jan 2013 – 31 Dec 2017 (BR1) Planned beneficiaries Initial: 487,909 (PD) Revised: 492,909 (BR1) Planned food Initial: Revised: requirements In-kind food: MT 128,595 (PD) In-kind food: MT 116,945 (BR1) US$ requirements Initial: 215,328,450 (PD) Revised: 216,275,282 (BR1)

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES1 Strategic Objective2 Operation specific outcomes Activities SO3. Restore and 1.1: Adequate food consumption for target  Food assistance for assets rebuild lives and households over the assistance period (FFA)/cash livelihoods in post- 1.2: Increased access to assets in fragile, transition  Food assistance for assets conflict, post-disaster situations for target communities (FFA)/food [Component 1] or transition situations 3.1B: Improved nutritional status of target groups  Treatment of moderate acute

malnutrition [Component 3b]

and7 SO4. Reduce chronic 2.1: Increased access to education in assisted  School feeding

- hunger and schools [Component 2] undernutrition 3.1A: Improved nutrition status of target groups  Prevention of stunting [Component 3a] SO5. Strengthen the 4.1A: Progress towards nationally owned hunger  Capacity development capacities of countries solutions [Component 4] to reduce hunger, 4.1B: Ministry of Education and its institutions including through improve performance in early childhood care and hand-over strategies education, formal and non-formal education, in and local purchase line with school sector reform programmes

Contribution to MDGs 1 Contributionto MDGs 4.1C: National preparedness and emergency systems able to prepare for and respond to hazard- related disasters 4.1D: Adolescent girls, mothers, infants, young children and disadvantaged vulnerable groups have increased access to and utilization of essential micronutrients

1 Note that this presentation refers to the Strategic Plan 2008-2013. The realignment to the Strategic Plan 2014-2017 as per the current logframe in COMET is Component 1  SO3, Component 2  SO4, Component 3  SO4, Component 4  SO3 & SO4. Cross-cutting themes include: Gender, Protection and Accountability to Affected Populations, and Partnership. 2 Refers to WFP Nepal’s Strategic Plan (2010-2013). iv

Table 1. Operational Factsheet (Continued)

PARTNERS

Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Agricultural Development, Government Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Planning Commission United Nations FAO, UNICEF, IFAD, UN WOMEN SAPPROS, Manahari Development Institute (MDI), World Education, Open Learning Exchange (OLE), Himalayan Health and Environmental Services Solukhumbu (HHESS), NGOs Center for Disaster Management (CDM), Integrated Development Society (IDS) Nepal, Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN), Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) RESOURCES (INPUTS) Figure 1. Funding Situation Figure 2. Contributions Received (US$)

Contribution received (by 06 Nov 2016): US$ 58,540,255 Source: Resource Situation 06 Nov 2016

Contribution Source: Resource Situation 06 Nov 2016 against appeal: 27% Figure 3. Funding Levels by Year (US$) with percent funded vs required

Top 4 donors:  USA  Multilateral  Korea, Rep. of  Canada

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015, and Resource Situation 06 Nov 2016

OUTPUTS Planned Actual Figure 4: % of planned beneficiaries Figure 5. % of actual beneficiaries by activity

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015 Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015

Table 1. Operational Factsheet (Continued)

Figure 6. Male vs. Female Beneficiaries by Activity & Year: Planned vs. Actual

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015

Table 1 continued.

Figure 7. Planned vs. Actual beneficiaries by year, activity, and sex

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015

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Table 1. Operational Factsheet (Continued)

Figure 8. % of beneficiaries reached vs. planned by activity and year

Key observations: Severe shortfalls in funding across components throughout CP; particularly in nutrition support

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015 Education support is best funded Figure 9. Total Planned vs. Actual Beneficiaries by Year component, though achieving little over 50% planned beneficiaries between 2013 and 2015

Low achievement of planned beneficiaries across all components

Gender balance achieved in beneficiaries assisted Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015 (Per SPR figures, not adjusted for double-counting) in livelihoods & asset Figure 10. Planned vs. Actual Distributions/Year (MT) creation activities

More girls than boys received assistance in education support

35% of beneficiaries reached in 2015 with just 17% of planned food distributed, suggests reduced rations

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015

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Table 1. Operational Factsheet (Continued) Figure 11. Planned vs. Actual MT transferred per year, by activity3

3 Value is not disaggregated by activity in WFP’s reporting. Overall expenditures cannot be proportionally divided as the food basket composition provided under each activity varies substantially and thus have different cost profiles over the life of the programme. ix

Table 1. Operational Factsheet (Continued)

Figure 12. % of food requirements by Figure 13. % of food distributed by component component

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015 Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015

Figure 14. Actual vs. Planned Total Value of Cash Transfers Distributed

Source: SPR 2013, 2014, 2015

Outcomes4 Outcome Indicators (Per SPR 2015) PET BV PFU LFU Strategic Objective 3: Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition needs CAS: percentage of communities with an increased Asset Score Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, 80 91 Programme monitoring. CSI (Asset Depletion): Percentage of female-headed households with reduced/stabilized Coping Strategy Index Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, 10.2 10.2 18 Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. CSI (Asset Depletion): Percentage of male-headed households with reduced/stabilized Coping Strategy Index Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, 16.7 16.7 16.7 Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Diet Diversity Score (female-headed households) Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 6.5 3.8 4 4.94 Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Key FCS: percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (female- observations headed) Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 93 60.6 66.1 79.6  Indicators Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. from the latest Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, follow up Programme monitoring. appear to be FCS: percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (male-headed) improving Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 93 66.5 68. 82.5 from baseline Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 9 for the Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, majority of Programme monitoring. outcomes FCS: percentage of households with borderline Food Consumption Score (female- measured headed) Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 6 33.2 5 16.3 Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. FCS: percentage of households with borderline Food Consumption Score (male-headed) Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 6 29.2 20.2 13.1 Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. FCS: percentage of households with poor Food Consumption Score (female-headed) Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 1 4.3 28.9 4.1 Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. FCS: percentage of households with poor Food Consumption Score (male-headed) Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: 1 6.1 10.9 4.4 Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. NCI: Food security programmes National Capacity Index Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline survey, WFP survey. Latest Follow-up: 20 12 16

4 PET: Project End Target; BV: Baseline Value; PFU: Previous Follow-Up; LFU: Latest Follow-Up. xi

Dec-2015, NCI Consultation Workshop report, WFP survey. NCI: Resilience programmes National Capacity Index Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Latest Follow-up: 20 10 12 Dec-2015, NCI Consultation Workshop report, WFP survey.

Outcomes (Continued) PF LF Outcome Indicators (Per SPR 2015) PET BV U U Strategic Objective 4: Reduce undernutrition and break the intergenerational cycle of hunger

Attendance rate (boys) in WFP-assisted primary schools Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post 90 72.3 71 81 distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Jul-2015, McGovernDole baseline report, WFP survey. Attendance rate (girls) in WFP-assisted primary schools Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post 90 71.3 69 81 distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Jul-2015, McGovernDole baseline report, WFP survey. Enrolment (boys): Average annual rate of change in number of boys enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post 1 -1.1 -5 -1.6 distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Jul-2015, McGovern Dole baseline report, WFP survey. Enrolment (girls): Average annual rate of change in number of girls enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post 1 -2.9 -4 -2.1 distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Jul-2015, McGovern Dole baseline report, WFP survey. NCI: School Feeding National Capacity Index Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, SABER 20 8 12 Country Report (Nepal), Secondary data. Proportion of children consuming a minimum acceptable diet Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post 70 39 56. 66. distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post 9 4 distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Proportion of eligible population who participate in programme (coverage) Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 70 90 94 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Desk review of Government clinic attendance records of PLW and Children, Secondary data.

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Cross-Cutting Indicators Proportion of households where females and males together make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 50 39.3 48.3 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 3 Proportion of households where females make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 25 19.3 7.3 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 3 Proportion of households where males make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 25 41.3 44.3 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 3 Livelihood and asset creation: Proportion of women beneficiaries in leadership positions of project management committees Base value: Dec-2012, Baseline report, WFP survey. Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post 50 34 38 distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Proportion of women project management committee members trained on modalities of food, cash, or voucher distribution Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 50 52 52 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Partners' output reports, Programme monitoring. Education: Proportion of women beneficiaries in leadership positions of project management committees Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 50 13 24.4 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Proportion of households where females and males together make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 50 58 Nutrition: Proportion of women beneficiaries in leadership positions of project management committees Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 50 27.6 24 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Nutrition: Proportion of women project management committee members trained on modalities of food, cash, or voucher distribution Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Government reports, Secondary data. 60 100 Livelihoods and asset creation: Proportion of assisted people (men) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 90 100 95.1 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Livelihoods and asset creation: Proportion of assisted people (women) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 90 100 91.4 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Education: Proportion of assisted people (men) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 90 79 Education: Proportion of assisted people (women) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 90 93.3 Nutrition : Proportion of assisted people (men) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 90 100 Proportion of assisted people who do not experience safety problems travelling to/from and at WFP programme sites Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 100 100 100 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. Nutrition: Proportion of assisted people (women) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Previous Follow-up: Dec-2014, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring. 90 100 100 Latest Follow-up: Dec-2015, Post distribution monitoring report, Programme monitoring.

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Map

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Executive Summary

A. Introduction 1. The mid-term Country Programme (CP) evaluation took place from June 2016 to December 2016, with fieldwork in Nepal from 12th to 30th September. It was conducted by a team of three independent evaluators, with the assistance of a data analyst. The evaluation has two objectives: accountability and learning; and seeks to answer three key questions: 1) How appropriate is the operation?, 2) What are the results of the operation?, and 3) Why and how has the operation produced the observed results? The primary users of the report are the Country Office (CO) along with the Regional Bureau (RB) in Bangkok. The results will also serve the interests of WFP’s Executive Board when results are captured in the annual synthesis report. 2. The evaluation covered all activities and processes related to the formulation of CP 200319, implementation, resourcing, monitoring and evaluation, from the design period of November 2011-December 2012, until the start of the evaluation in September 2016. The team primarily employed qualitative methods including secondary data review, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Field work comprised visits to three districts in the Mid and Far Western regions: Jumla, Dailekh and Achham. 3. The evaluation aims to assist WFP Nepal to improve the implementation and effectiveness of the CP. It also seeks to provide insights and recommendations on strategic direction to support the CO to best position and profile the CP in the current context, particularly in relation to the on-going earthquake recovery response, and in light of the current funding environment as well as the upcoming Country Strategic Plan (CSP) development process. Consideration is also given to WFP’s engagement in strategic partnerships. 4. Nepal is committed to graduating from Least Developed Country to a Developing Country status by 2022. Currently, the country is ranked 145 out of 188 countries in the 2015 Human Development Index (HDI) and 25.2 percent of the population lives in poverty. Damage from the 25th April 2015 earthquake and the 12th May aftershock, was estimated at US$7 million; over 8,600 people died and over 350,000 homes were destroyed in the Kathmandu valley. It is estimated that this will push an additional 2.5-3.5 percent of Nepalese families into poverty. Nepal ranks 33rd among seriously hunger-affected countries and 55th in the overall Global Hunger Index (GHI), among 81 countries this year. Stunting prevalence is high at 37.4 percent of children under 5 years and wasting is 11.3 percent. 5. The goal of the five-year CP is to enhance the resilience of communities prone to shocks and foster the food and nutrition security of vulnerable people. It targets chronically food-insecure populations in all the hill and mountain districts of Mid- Western and Far-Western regions (sixteen districts) of Nepal, which are characterised by severe food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty and vulnerability to natural disasters. In addition, the WFP-supported Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP) operates in 74 of the country’s 75 districts. 6. The CP runs from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017. It targets 492,909 beneficiaries with a budget requirement of US$ 216,275,282. The CP has four components: Livelihoods and Asset Creation, largely comprised of Rural Community Infrastructure Works (RCIW); Education Support; Nutrition Support;

and Capacity Development. All components are implemented in close collaboration with the Government of Nepal and with support of cooperating NGO partners. B. Key Findings 7. Appropriateness: The CP was designed in a manner that demonstrated a clear understanding of the needs of the communities and was firmly aligned with Government policies and priorities at that time. Overall, it was appropriately targeted to vulnerable districts and communities. However, analysis of gender dynamics in the design phase lacked depth and accountability mechanisms were inadequately considered. 8. Throughout the duration of the CP, the policy context has been evolving. WFP does not appear to be fully keeping abreast of these processes, thereby limiting the CP appropriateness over time. 9. In the context of severe funding constraints, road construction within RCIW has spread resources too thinly, offering only 18 days of work per household, rather than refining geographic or household targeting mechanisms. 10. WFP’s MCHN support has been a relevant response to a concerning nutritional situation and is aligned with the Government and WFP corporate strategy. However, more in depth examination of the appropriateness of the BSFP component within different communities or subgroups would enable refinements to targeting and improved use of resources to promote sustainable outcomes. Currently the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) programme is being rolled out and the second Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan (MSNP2) is being developed. The complementarities and fit of MCHN within these processes is unclear and it is important that the approach continues to be aligned with the collective efforts to address malnutrition in the country. 11. While the CP is well-aligned overall with WFP corporate strategy, there are issues around sustainability across all components while aspects of education programming extend beyond WFP’s established remit i.e. with complementary education initiatives. However, the latter initiatives fit well with the Government’s strategy to enhance the quality of education. 12. WFP’s partnerships with UN partners, donors and NGO consortia are active, but the quality of the engagement and WFP’s ability to collaborate on strategic issues beyond the organisation’s programmatic focus is questioned by stakeholders. 13. Results: The CP has experienced chronic shortfalls in funding over its lifetime, achieving only 26.2 percent of required funding, with the majority of those funds being prioritised towards Education Support. 14. The operation has therefore reached only a fraction of its planned beneficiary caseload. This has resulted in low coverage of interventions and reduced quality of many of the assets constructed through RCIW. The focus on targeting mothers with Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) counselling, has meant that key messages are not adequately shared with community leaders, or fathers and grandparents who are often the primary carers while mothers work long days in the fields. 15. Men are holding key positions in School Management Committees (SMCs) and Food Management Committees (FMCs) yet are not playing significant roles in organising and managing school feeding, often as they are absent working in India for six months of the year. A high burden is on mothers to collect food commodities.

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16. Despite the low level of outputs, the CP has achieved progress towards targets in school attendance rates of boys and girls, consumption of minimal acceptable diets of children under-2 years, coping strategy index and food consumption scores of male and female-headed households in targeted communities. Interventions are highly appreciated by Government and beneficiaries. 17. The annual “point in time” nature of the outcome indicators requires careful interpretation due to seasonal fluctuations; a deeper analysis of outcome data reveals that attendance is erratic for maternal child health and nutrition (MCHN) beneficiaries and those households with the poorest FCS in RCIW-supported communities are not making as much progress through the CP as better-off households. 18. NeKSAP has been institutionalised throughout the country and is a public good highly valued by all food security and nutrition stakeholders in Nepal. 19. Synergies within the CP are limited as Nutrition Support and Education Support are not implemented in any of the same VDCs. This is largely due to the different geographic targeting criteria (rates of malnutrition vs education data respectively) and the fact that the Government is running school feeding in districts where MCHN is in place. However, there is scope for WFP to work in closer partnership with other development actors and leverage synergies between programmes to the benefit of CP activities. 20. The CP activities have gradually helped to raise women’s status in communities, with small steps towards women’s engagement in decision-making committees and confidence to speak up in public meetings. Provision of equal wages for men and women, as well as receipt of cash by women has contributed to this, as well as MCHN’s role in generating interest in women’s reproductive health and well-being. However, women continue to be insufficiently represented in leadership positions and women’s participation in CP activities is highly demanding in the context of male out-migration. Women are overburdened due to their labour in agriculture, RCIW, household chores, caring for children, and carrying Supercereal from FDPs to schools. 21. Factors affecting the results: Lack of funding, entrenched inequality of gender roles as well as structural and governance issues in education and health facilities were major external factors limiting the effectiveness of the results. After grade 6, girls start to drop out of school due to early marriage and pregnancy or because secondary schools are too far away. On the positive side, targeted initiatives by Government and other NGO programmes supported achievement of outcomes. 22. Internal factors affecting the results include limitations in WFP’s collaboration and engagement in national strategic processes and partnerships, with inadequate exploration of opportunities of programme synergies and implementation modalities to improve quality of projects. Limitations in gender analysis and appreciation of the burdens on women have led to missed opportunities to increase gender-sensitivity of the activities and thereby improve effectiveness. 23. A full complement of VAM staff mentoring and supporting Government staff, facilitated by long-term, committed funding was instrumental to the success of NeKSAP. 24. There is a heavy burden on the M&E unit in collecting a large array of indicators in a very challenging terrain with a limited budget. Numerous indicators, particularly

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corporate indicators, are less than relevant in illustrating the programme’s achievements. This limits the CO in communicating effectively the outputs and outcomes of the CP. C. Overall assessment 25. The programme and its component activities were designed in a fully coherent manner in terms of Government policy at the start of the CP, and were aligned with the UNDAF and WFP’s strategic framework. However, over the three and a half years since the CP started there have been changes in the policy and strategic framework as well as changes in actors and approaches. WFP has not fully kept pace with these changes to continue to provide assistance that is attuned to the evolving situation while exhibiting best practice and global expertise 26. WFP is reaching some of the most hard-to-reach populations in Nepal and supporting remote communities. CP effectiveness and coverage has been compromised by significant funding shortfalls, achieving just 26.2 percent of planned resources to date. The CP has reached 23 percent of planned beneficiaries in its first year (2013), 42 percent in its second year and 35 percent in its third year, with distributions of 13 percent planned MT in 2013, 30 percent in 2014 and 17 percent in 2015. 27. The education programme has reached out to girls and marginalised groups and increased their engagement in school. However, there has been a lack of in-depth gender analysis and systematic inclusion of gender considerations in needs assessment, design and planning of the CP, which has reduced the potential effectiveness of activities. 28. The assessment of sustainability is mixed for the CP with some positive examples such as NeKSAP, IYCF counselling within MCHN and household-focused assets within RCIW. Distribution of Supercereal is not sustainable and reduced quality of roads with RCIW reduces their intended impact and longevity. Exit strategies within MCHN and education support have not yet been clearly developed or communicated with key stakeholders at district and community level. 29. The CP has made progress in the majority of logframe indicators but the annual point in time indicators require careful interpretation. Overall the CO is burdened by less than useful corporate indicators and lack sufficient resources given the terrain and remote project locations. D. Recommendations

Strategic recommendations (in order of priority):

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a. An approach that emphasizes the distinctive competences of WFP e.g. scenario and risk analysis, logistics, organisational ability to work in most remote areas and capacity to develop appropriate cash and commodity solutions to address food insecurity. b. A comprehensive gender analysis should be conducted at the design phase of the new strategic plan, building on knowledge gained through the CP activities, to ensure a gender focus is at the heart of the approach. c. WFP should continue to explore creative solutions for the promotion of women in decision-making roles within the CO and field level. d. The strategy should be realistic, achievable and seek buy-in through early consultation with donors and Government during its development. Assured financial commitments would enable long-term agreements with partners, thereby improving the quality of the work. R2. During the CSP development process of 2017 and in any future CP, CO Management and programme units, with support of RB and HQ need to strengthen engagement in coordination and collaboration mechanisms with the aim of leveraging synergies with other organisations and increasing collaboration on common policy and joint initiatives. This could form the basis for advocacy and resourcing at national and international levels. R3. Within the 2017 planning process, the Nutrition Unit should examine the role of MCHN alongside the incoming IMAM programme and in the context of MSNP2 and continue to assess its relevance and opportunities for collaboration with others to maximise sustainable nutrition outcomes. CO should adapt and prioritise WFP’s nutrition support to ensure that joint or collaborative programming occurs wherever possible, which is aligned with the principle of the multi-sectoral approach (e.g. leveraging organisations implementing income- generating activities working in the same areas; working alongside UNICEF on IMAM and IYCF) and that interventions remain effective and pertinent in support of emerging Government strategies and approaches. Operational recommendations (in order of priority): R4. Within the context of resource shortages and multiple actors carrying out public works in the region, Programme management supported by technical departments, RB and HQ should develop a plan for significantly decreasing coverage in RCIW but aiming for improved standards of works. This would align with the evolving corporate approach. This should start in 2017 and be established for any future CP. It should combine: a. Ensuring that planning and project selection processes for FFA reflect women’s priorities as well as men’s and seek to reduce women’s workload, through discussion of a more appropriate female-friendly set of options. b. Work with MoFALD towards an objective assessment of households most in need, drawing on existing VAM data and analysis, experience of other public works programmes in targeting and through a series of community discussions. This is the minimum required to support an approach that targets the most vulnerable households within the VDC and represents a shift away from self-selection.

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c. Use WFP’s engineering unit as a core resource for RCIW along with local authorities and undertake robust feasibility assessments of all rural road initiatives. CO should de-prioritise those that cannot clearly demonstrate coherence with broader local authority transport plans and commitments. d. Aim to maximise available resources to benefit households most in need by targeting fewer households with a minimum of 35 waged days per year. e. Improve coordination between Government and local stakeholders to maximise coherence on policy and practice around a set of Government- approved standards. R5. Within the 2017 planning process, the M&E Unit, with support from CO management and leadership, Donor relations and Communications and RB, should lead a process to improve data management and reporting quality for donors, Government and the media ensuring that reports focus more clearly on evidence- based outcomes and impacts of programmes. This would further demonstrate WFP’s achievements and areas of strength and expertise. Options include: a. During the project design phase streamline data collection and reporting, focusing on a refined set of the most useful indicators that demonstrate achievements, ensuring that relevant gender indicators are included and analysed, while being mindful of donor and external requirements. b. Outcome monitoring should be increased to sampling in target communities twice a year, instead of once, to capture indicators affected by seasonality (e.g. FCS, CSI and MAD) during both lean season and post-harvest periods, ideally using a panel survey, if these types of indicators continue to be prioritised. Where corporate indicators add little value and are costly to collect, a discussion should be opened with RB and HQ on funding mechanisms for these. c. Ensure that WFP has adequate field monitoring capacity to fulfil its accountability function; improving synergies between WFP activities and across the country portfolio could assist with feasibility of this, as well as exploiting opportunities among UN partners for joint monitoring. R6. With the current CP, the Nutrition unit supported by management should move to a seasonal Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme (BSFP) for 6-8 months of the year to cover the lean season, to reduce costs of intervention and promote community self-reliance; depending on the nutritional status of children (to be confirmed in 2017 end line survey) there may be options for targeting to be further refined to reduced numbers of VDCs within the districts or to targeting vulnerable households and children within VDCs in future programming beyond 2017. R7. During the remainder of this CP, the CO Nutrition unit supported by Programme management should expand the nutrition counselling approach in MCHN from a focus on mothers to community level, targeting fathers, grandparents and community leaders. This could include community, small group and individual meetings beyond the health post to accelerate knowledge transfer and promote behaviour change. R8. During the remainder of this CP and into the next, the Education unit, supported by Programme management should work to improve social mobilisation and

increase engagement with parents, local stakeholders and school teachers to support sustainability and ensure preparation for a smooth exit for WFP. R9.Within the 2017 planning process, CO Programme management supported by relevant technical advisors within RB should explore with MOE the possibilities and options for extending support to targeted secondary schools to promote the transition of girls into secondary education, in consideration of the high drop-out rates and high rates of child marriage. Criteria related to equity, gender, socially excluded groups (deaf children), caste discrimination and most vulnerable catchment areas could be considered to target secondary school support. Creative approaches should be considered, such as the Girls Incentive Programme resource transfer and creation of synergies with other actors to address comprehensively the multiple issues that prevent girls as well as boys from accessing secondary education.

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1. Introduction 1.1. Evaluation Features 1. This mid-term Country Programme (CP) evaluation took place from June to December 2016, with fieldwork in Nepal from 12th to 30th September. It was conducted by a team of three independent evaluators, with the assistance of a desk- based data analyst. The evaluation has two objectives: 1) Accountability – to assess and report on the performance and results of the operation; and, 2) Learning – to determine the reasons why certain results were achieved or were not achieved in order to draw lessons, derive good practices and identify points for learning. 2. The evaluation sought to answer three key questions: 1) How appropriate is the operation?; 2) What are the results of the operation?; and 3) Why and how has the operation produced the observed results? 3. Approach and methodology: The evaluation covered CP 200319 including all activities and processes related to its formulation, implementation, resourcing, monitoring, evaluation and reporting: from the development of the operation (November 2011-December 2012) until the start of the evaluation (September 2016). 4. While the evaluation aims to assist WFP Nepal to improve the implementation and effectiveness of the CP, at the request of the CO, it also seeks to provide insights and recommendations on strategic direction to support the Country Office (CO) to best position and profile the CP in the current context, particularly in relation to the ongoing earthquake recovery response, and in light of the current funding environment and the upcoming Country Strategic Plan (CSP) development process. Consideration is also given to WFP’s engagement in strategic partnerships and methods to strengthen them moving forward. 5. The programme was assessed against WFP standards and plans as summarised in the programme logframe and key project documents. The CP logframe was revised in 2014/15 following the publication of the new WFP Strategic Results Framework in 2014-2017, and the evaluation has examined the results in the light of these revised indicators. Key evaluation criteria have been applied as defined by the internationally recognized Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC), specifically: relevance, coherence (internal and external), coverage, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Gender and equity issues were a specific focus of the evaluation, including the specific needs of marginalised groups. 6. The methodology included an in-depth secondary review of key documents and data provided by the CO as well as further documentation gathered through an ongoing process of data collection with WFP and stakeholders. 7. Primary qualitative data collected from focus group discussions and key informant interviews at national, sub-national and VDC level; observation techniques were also used to complement secondary data analysis. 8. An evaluation matrix (Annex 3: Evaluation Matrix) was developed to guide the evaluation team, as well as semi-structured interview guides. The differing views of men, women, girls and boys were explored, as well as those of ethnic and caste groups; data gathering methods sought disaggregation of gender-related information wherever possible.

9. Triangulation of evidence across all CP components was conducted to verify and strengthen key observations and findings. The team implemented a participatory approach and sought to engage the Nepal country team as much as possible in discussion and reflection throughout. 10. Internal and external debriefings were conducted in September 2016 to share the preliminary findings with WFP RB, CO and Office of Evaluation (OEV) staff, partners and key stakeholders. These provided a further opportunity to discuss and validate the results. In October, a call was held with CO and RB to discuss the draft recommendations. 11. The team visited five village development committees (VDCS) in three districts: Jumla and Dailekh in the Mid-West and Achham in the Far West (Annex 4: Site Visits and Field Schedule). Site selection was informed by the potential to observe different implementation modalities of the livelihoods and asset creation component (i.e. food only, cash only, food and cash) and multiple CP components within the same districts. Accessibility was also a key consideration due to the terrain in Mid and Far West Nepal. 12. Limitations of the evaluation: Several indicators from the original logframe, particularly those pertaining to Nutrition support, have not been systematically included in third party monitoring or SPR reporting to date. For example, the SPR 2014 notes that the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia was not measured due to lack of technical capacity. Likewise, there have been no surveys to assess anthropometric indicators throughout the period of the CP, though they are planned for the endline survey in 2017. This limited the ability of the evaluation to make authoritative conclusions on the effectiveness of the CP in terms of meeting its objective of reducing undernutrition among pregnant and lactating women and children under-5. 13. Difficult terrain and challenges of accessibility to field sites where WFP is working, resulting from lack of roads or poor road infrastructure, meant that the evaluation team could only visit a restricted number of VDCs, as some require several days’ walk to reach. This was figured into the sampling plan and mitigated by evaluation team members being familiar with the geographic area of operation and having significant previous experience in WFP’s programme activities in Nepal. The ET determined that the fieldwork provided sufficient exposure to the programme to enable the team to triangulate desk reports and engage in rich discussion with beneficiaries and key informants at district and VDC level. 14. Adverse weather further limited accessibility to field sites as thunderstorms and heavy rainfall struck Achham during 21 and 22 September, causing landslides and unpassable road blockages. This prevented the team from accessing Bajura district as planned and forced a change in itinerary for the last two days of the field visit. Fortunately, with the support of WFP CO and field staff, replacement appointments were set up in Dailekh to meet with District authorities, and an extra day of stakeholder appointments in Kathmandu could be accommodated. This was deemed advantageous by the team and CO as it meant greater time and emphasis could be dedicated to strategic issues and discussions with the CO staff.

1.2. Country Context 15. The population of Nepal was estimated at 28.51 million in 2015. Life expectancy at birth has increased over the last twenty years from 61 in 1996 to 70 in 2014 (68 for men and 71 for women).5 Nepal is ranked 145 out of 188 countries in the 2015 Human Development Index (HDI) with a score of 0.548, categorized as ‘low.’6 16. Gender and inclusion: The 2014 Gender Inequality Index ranks Nepal 108th of 188 countries. Women and girls are among the most marginalised groups, with lower levels of education, less say in decision-making and considerably less economic independence than men and boys. They lack empowerment to protect and exercise citizenship as well as land tenure rights. Overseas migration is a key livelihood strategy particularly among males, such that the majority of the agricultural and informal sector workers are increasingly female.7 17. Nepal is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW-1979). The Government’s Local Self Governance Act 1999 provides guidelines for all national development plans to be consistent with Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) programme principles. However, realisation of gender equality is often limited to policy papers and monitoring of gender budgeting is lacking.8 The National Women Commission has not been able to function effectively as the necessary law of the commission has yet to be enacted. Women from marginalised groups such as Dalit, Madhesi, and indigenous communities, from the religious minorities and from geographically disadvantaged locations and women with disability continue to see lesser representation in all sectors. 18. Government: A Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006 brought an end to a ten- year civil war between Maoist and government forces in Nepal, and led to a 2007 interim constitution. In 2008, the newly formed Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy and elected the country's first president. 19. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved in 2012 after it failed to draft a constitution and the major political parties created an interim government in March 2013. Elections were held in November 2013, in which the Nepali Congress won the largest share of seats, followed by the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and in February 2014 the two parties formed a coalition government. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in September 2015.9 20. Economy & poverty: According to the World Bank, 25.2 percent of the population of Nepal lives in poverty. Considerable variations in poverty levels based on gender, ethnic group and occupational caste persist despite some progress in addressing exclusion: poverty incidence is 1.5 times higher amongst Dalits compared to the national average, and women own only 10.8 percent of land. Dalit women still face a high degree of social and economic exclusion and the traditional harmful practices of chhaupadi,10 and child marriage.

5 World Bank Data. http://data.worldbank.org/country/nepal 6 UNDP Nepal HDR 2014. Beyond Geography. Unlocking Human Potential. 7 NLSS III, CBS 2011. 8 CEDAW 2016, civil society alternative report 9 CIA Factbook Nepal, updated 07 June 2016. 10 Chhaupad is a social tradition in the western part of Nepal for Hindu women, which prohibits them from participating in normal family activities during a menstruation period, as they are considered "impure" (Wikipedia, accessed 12 December 2016). 3

21. Nepal is committed to graduating from Least Developed Country to a Developing Country status by 2022.11 Nepal’s economy experienced steady progress over the 2010-15 period, averaging 4.3 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. However, due to the considerable damage of the 25th April 2015 earthquake and the 12th May aftershock, there are varying estimates on growth for the coming year ranging from 1.5 to 4.7 percent. The earthquake damage was estimated at US$7 million; over 8,600 people died and over 350,000 homes were destroyed. It is estimated that this will push an additional 2.5-3.5 percent of Nepalese families into poverty.12 22. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the completion and promulgation of the new Constitution drew protest from Madhesi and Tharu populations from September 2015 through to March 2016. This resulted in violence and blockades of Indian border crossings that caused acute shortages of fuel and other essential goods. This was another major blow for the economy with industry contracting for the first time in seven years, while agriculture and services experienced some of the lowest growth in recent history. 23. Remittances from migrant workers (largely male) have risen dramatically over the last ten years and now account for 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), with an estimated 28 percent of the workforce working overseas.13 These figures do not include the large numbers of seasonal migrants working in India, a long-term livelihood strategy for many households.14 A further one-third of GDP comes from agriculture and it is the largest employment sector for over three quarters of the population. 24. Food security: Nepal’s food security remains vulnerable due to a variety of factors including displacement as a result of the conflict; climate change and land degradation from soil erosion, flooding and landslide; migration of farmers and labour, and population growth outstripping food production. Nepal now has a significant food deficit problem.15 Only sixteen percent of land in Nepal is considered arable. 25. In the Mid and Far Western districts, household food production sometimes meets just three months of annual household needs.16 Nepal ranks 33rd among seriously hunger affected countries and 55th in the overall Global Hunger Index, among 81 countries this year. 26. Disaster vulnerability: Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides and avalanches, extreme weather events, and drought. Small scale natural disasters have killed over 2,600 people and affected over two million over the 2006 - 2014 period with landslides and floods accounting for approximately a third of these deaths.17 Men, women, boys and girls face different vulnerabilities in disasters. 27. There have been considerable investments in disaster risk reduction in recent years. In 2009, the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium (NRRC), involving a wide range of Government, donor, UN and NGO actors, was formed to support the Government

11 UNDP Human Development Report 2014. 12 Post Disaster Needs Assessment June 2015 National Planning Commission, ADB and World Bank estimates. 13 Ibid. 14 See large scale baseline report on 8 Mid and Far west districts http://rapnepal.com/report-publication/hh-baseline-survey- report-0 15 WFP maps pre and post-earthquake food security provided to the team. 16 National Planning Commission (2010). Nepal Millennium Development Goals Progress Report. 17 http://ifrc-media.org/interactive/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1293600-World-Disasters-Report-2015_en.pdf 4

in developing a long-term Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan. During the 2015 earthquake response, the Government and partners placed a strong and early emphasis on protection, monitoring movements of women and minors and creating women's "safe space" facilities. 28. Literacy and education: Nepal has been making significant progress toward its education goals. Recent data show that the Net Enrolment Rate (NER) for Girls is 96.2 percent and for Boys is 96.9 percent in primary education.18 29. The above figure does not include “out of school children.” According to a 2012 Joint Mid-Term Review of the education system, 13 percent of 5-16 year olds (1.2 million children) are out of school and are not included in the school data.19 30. The overall literacy rate increased from 54.1 percent in 2001 to 65.9 percent in 2011;20 the female literacy rate was 57.4 percent compared to 75.1 percent for males. In the Mid and Far Western regions, literacy rates are ten percent lower than the national rates. 31. Access to quality education remains a challenge: seven percent of children drop out before completing grade 8 and 21 percent repeat grade one.21 Girls are less likely than boys to complete schooling and girls’ education is a low priority for many families, with girls working at home and on the land or are married off at a young age. According to the 2011 Census, 48.49 percent of Nepal’s married population was between the ages of 15-19. The impact of early marriage for girls often means they are denied education or are forced to drop-out of school to look after children. 32. Health and nutrition: MICS 2014 shows underweight prevalence in children under-5 years at 30.1 percent, stunting 37.4 percent and wasting 11.3 percent (overweight is 2.1 percent). This confirms a steady downward trend for stunting prevalence from 57 percent in 2001 (GNR 2015), while wasting rates have remained relatively static. 33. According to the 2016 Global Nutrition Report, Nepal is currently off track to meet its targets for reduction of under-5 stunting and wasting. Household assets, women’s education, health care and open defecation are identified as some of the most important underlying determinants of stunting in Nepal. 34. Anaemia in women of reproductive age stands at 36.1 percent.22 Adult overweight prevalence at 18 percent puts Nepal at a position of 6th lowest prevalence of 190 countries assessed in the Global Nutrition Report, but still represents almost one in five adults. In the 2011 Demographic and Health Survey, 18 percent of women aged 15-49 years were assessed as underweight (Body Mass Index - BMI <18.5). 35. Nepal’s maternal mortality ratio has declined from 444 per 100,000 live births in 2005 to 258 in 2015.23 The decline is largely attributed to increased access of women to health facilities, with skilled attendance at birth increasing from 24 percent of births to 53 percent over the same period. 36. The Government joined the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement in May 2011 and launched the Zero Hunger Challenge in December 2014. It has made firm

18 Status report 2016, Department of Education. 19 Joint Mid Term Review of the School Sector Reform Plan, 2014. 20 National Population and Housing Census National Report, Central Bureau of Statistics, 2012. 21 Flash II Report, Ministry of Education, 2014. 22 Global Nutrition Report 2016. 23 Maternal mortality in 1990-2015 WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and United Nations Population Division Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group NEPAL. 5

commitments to a multi-sectoral approach to combating food insecurity and malnutrition. 1.3. Operation Overview 37. The goal of the five-year CP is to enhance the resilience of communities prone to shocks and foster the food and nutrition security of vulnerable people. Specifically, its objectives are to: a) Reduce undernutrition among pregnant and lactating women and children under 5; b) Increase children’s access to pre-primary and basic education and enhance its quality; c) Support the re-establishment of livelihoods and food and nutrition security in communities affected by shocks; and d) Enable the development of sustainable, nationally owned food security systems. 38. The CP targets chronically food-insecure populations in all the hill and mountain districts of Mid and Far Western regions (16 districts), which are characterised by severe food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty and vulnerability to natural disasters. Nutrition support is also targeted to one district in the Eastern region, Solukhumbo, due to high rates of stunting amid pockets of food insecurity and vulnerability. In addition, the WFP-supported Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP) operates in 74 of the country’s 75 districts. 39. The CP runs from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017. It targets 492,909 beneficiaries with a budget requirement of US$ 216,275,282. The CP has four components: Livelihoods and Asset Creation, (largely comprised of Rural Community Infrastructure Works (RCIW)); Education Support; Nutrition Support; and Capacity Development. These are briefly described below. 40. Component 1, Livelihoods and Asset Creation: the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) and WFP have been jointly implementing RCIW since 1996. RCIW is a specific initiative with targeting determined by levels of food insecurity at the VDC level, and sits within a broader set of public works programmes operating in these districts by the government and other actors. During this CP, the operation set out to focus on enhancing agricultural production, creating rural infrastructure, and helping communities to build resilience against weather shocks in response to changing climatic conditions. WFP distributes cash and food to beneficiaries in return for their participation in asset construction, with the programme aiming to support a yearly maximum of 410,335 beneficiaries during 2013-2015 and 328,267 during 2016-2017, half of whom should be women and girls. The food ration of 5kg cereals per working day for an average of 60 working days per year, is planned to cover an average family’s cereal requirement24 for three to four months, taking into account average household production, complementary programmes, local resources and seasonal agricultural work. 41. Assistance is provided only during the lean season when other sources of employment and labour are scarce and each community should receive support over a minimum period of three years. The cash transfer value aims to ensure access to the same quantities of food, taking into consideration food prices and

24 80kg per month. 6

labour rates on local markets. WFP maintains responsibility for supply chain logistics for RCIW food commodities. 42. The Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities (SZHC) Project, a 3-year project (2012- 2015) funded by the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is implemented with Good Neighbors International (GNI) together with its local implementing partner "Asal Chhimeki Nepal" in two highly food insecure VDCs in Doti district, assisting 1,772 households. It aims to reduce rural poverty and food insecurity through an integrated community development approach which incorporates WFP’s FFA approach, alongside livelihood strengthening, enhanced basic services and capacity development. It is a complementary initiative to the CP and has been evaluated independently.25 43. The Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (RWEE) is another complementary project being implemented through a joint collaboration of UN WOMEN, IFAD, FAO and WFP, aligned with the RWEE global joint programme. Implementation runs from January to December 2016; it aims to secure rural women ‘s livelihoods and rights, ensuring sustainable development in 30 VDCs of three Terai and Hill regions (Rautahat, Sarlahi and Sindhuli districts). 44. Component 2, Education Support: WFP and the Ministry of Education (MOE), Department of Education (DOE), Food For Education Project (FFEP) provide support to improve access to, and quality of, education with the objectives of: reducing drop-out rates, increasing attendance and retention rates, and maintaining high enrolment rates of children in pre- and primary schools up to Grade 8 in priority areas, emphasising increasing access to education for girls. The programme operates in ten districts: Achham, Baitadi, Bajhang, Bajura, Dadeldhura, Dailekh, Darchula, Doti, Jajarkot and Rukum. 45. The FFEP manages the logistics for school feeding with financial and technical support from WFP; the MOE finances fifty percent of Internal Transformation Storage and Handling (ITSH) costs. Supercereal is donated in-kind by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). From the Final Distribution Points (FDPs), School Management Committees (SMC) and Food Monitoring Committees (FMC) have responsibility to transport food commodities to the schools themselves. 46. WFP provides capacity building support, including training on food storage, handling and preparation to cooks and district officials; warehouse maintenance and commodity handling trainings to FFEP; and support for programme reporting. 47. Children attending school receive a midday meal of porridge consisting of Supercereal (a fortified corn-soya blend) and cooking oil. School feeding is implemented alongside complementary activities to improve the quality of literacy through Early Grade Reading (EGR) (grades one to three) with World Education in six districts, and to promote behavioural change through Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in ten districts. In addition, WFP has partnered with Open Learning Exchange Nepal (OLE) to deliver digital literacy in four districts and is supporting infrastructure development in 20 schools in Bajhang district with Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN). The key interventions are illustrated in Figure 15 while district coverage is illustrated in Figure 16.

25 Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities (SZHC) Project. Phase I: 2012-2015. Final Evaluation Report. Centre for Economic Development and Administration (CEDA), Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. 30 September 2015. 7

Figure 15. WFP Education Support Interventions

Food- based SMP in 10 Early districts grade Partnershi reading in p grades 1 - 3

Capacity Parent’s developm mobilizati ent Education on Component

Infrastruc ture WASH support (Bajhang)

Teacher training/F Digital MC Learning training

Figure 16. Districts covered by activities of Education support

Source: Partner project reports 48. Digital Learning includes laptop distribution and development of curriculum focused and reference materials. Trainings are provided to teachers, and OLE help schools with infrastructure and networks on the basis of their needs. 49. RRN partnered with WFP between March and September 2016 for basic infrastructure improvement, providing technical assistance for construction and rehabilitation of school infrastructure such as water systems, toilets, school kitchen and energy saving stoves. 50. Integrated Development Society (IDS) and Centre for Development and Disaster Management (CDM) partners with WFP in all ten districts, in 1,608 primary schools. The intervention focuses on knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on water, sanitation and hygiene. It provides training to teachers, student, parents, FMC, SMC and has formed child WASH clubs in schools.

51. Component 3, Nutrition Support: WFP’s Mother-and-Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) activities take a preventative approach to address the high prevalence of chronic malnutrition and stunting in targeted food-insecure communities. Pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and children aged 6 to 23 months are assisted through blanket supplementary feeding (BSF) of individual monthly take-home rations of a fortified food (Supercereal) through the Government's health facilities. The Government provides the Supercereal and WFP’s role is to assist the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) transport it from the FDP to the health facilities. Although a 7kg ration was envisaged in the CP document, 3kg (100g per day) is provided after agreement with Government to align with national standards. 52. Nutrition education, through group and individual counselling, is supported by cooperating partners, Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal (SAPPROS), Manahari Development Institute (MDI) and Himalayan Health and Environmental Services Solukhumbu (HHESS), and aims to develop enhanced nutrition and hygiene practices by caregivers to promote optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. A pilot programme to treat Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) with Supercereal Plus was envisaged as part of the CP, but has not been implemented to date. 53. Component 4, Capacity development: WFP undertakes capacity development activities with the Government of Nepal to support implementation and strategic direction in relation to the three CP components described above. In addition, WFP has been supporting the Government in emergency preparedness and food security monitoring activities with a national outlook. 54. Education support: School feeding is included in the MOE’s annual work plan and budget. WFP is supporting the Government with the development of a sustainable, nationally owned and managed school feeding strategy through the development of implementation guidelines, as well as working to harmonise objectives and linkages between school feeding and other health and nutrition interventions under the Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan (MSNP). 55. WFP has conducted two pilot studies to support Government decision-making on school feeding approaches: one to explore different implementation modalities for a cash-based, sustainable school feeding programme implemented by the Government; and another to explore and articulate nutrition-sensitive literacy. It has also supported Government study visits to other countries. 56. RCIW: WFP is working to transfer knowledge and systems to the government at the district and VDC level to transition towards a government-led programme. WFP is also contributing to the development of a National Social Protection Strategy that will incorporate livelihoods and asset creation support. 57. MCHN: WFP works closely with UNICEF and the Child Health Division of the MOHP in development of an approach for the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) in children aged 6 to 59 months. WFP nutritionists also work to support the Government to develop the MSNP and its successor, MSNP2. 58. Capacity development with a national focus: The WFP Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping (VAM) Unit has worked since 2007 with the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MOAD) and National Planning Commission to establish and strengthen a national food security monitoring system, known as NeKSAP. During this CP WFP aims to handover the NeKSAP to the Government. NeKSAP produces

critical reports on food prices, household food security, and early warning of emergency situations for key stakeholders and donors and aims to assist the government to assess and plan food security responses. Reports are shared widely among Government, donors and all development actors. 59. WFP supports the Ministry of Home Affairs to develop the disaster preparedness capacities of central and district-level government through technical training, management support and provision of advice to the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) on improving its emergency food reserve capacity. 60. Monitoring and Evaluation: Government counterparts and cooperating partners report on programme implementation and outputs on a monthly basis through a web-based database (e-SPR) linked to the Government’s management information systems. WFP field monitors and programme staff conduct regular monitoring in the districts through beneficiary interviews and site visits. In addition, third party monitoring of outcomes is conducted on an annual basis through a representative survey. Analysis and triangulation of data is the responsibility of the M&E unit. 61. Cross-cutting themes: the CP aimed to incorporate the themes of partnership, protection and accountability to affected populations, and gender across all areas of work.

2. Evaluation Findings 2.1. Appropriateness of the Operation 62. The CP is aligned with WFP Nepal’s country strategy 2010-2013, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Nepal (2013–2017) and with the Government’s Thirteenth, Three-Year Development Plan 2013/14- 2015/16.26 63. In addition, a key strategy of the plan is Improve the nutritional status of vulnerable citizens by implementing multi-sectoral nutrition programmes. 64. The CP contributes to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 and to the WFP Strategic Objectives 3 (Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition needs) and 4 (Reduce undernutrition and break the intergenerational cycle of hunger). WFP is now also aligning its operations with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is particularly focused on SDG 2, Zero hunger, while contributing firmly to SDG 4, Quality education and SDG 5, Gender equality.

Livelihoods and asset creation a. Appropriateness to the needs of the population 65. RCIW provides much-needed income support to the populations targeted. There was a consistent demand from beneficiaries met during the evaluation for reliable, reasonably paid cash and food for work in a region where agricultural and non- agricultural livelihoods options are limited. There was consistent positive feedback

26 The objectives of which include: 1) To improve the consumption of food in sufficient quantity and nutrient value; 2) To identify areas and communities vulnerable to food insecurity and increase their access to nutritious foodstuffs; and 3) To expand equal access to education of all levels and types, general, vocational, and technical. 10

on WFP and partner commitment to work in the most remote areas and provide work opportunities close to home for participants. The targeting of the February – April period is appropriate and popular with beneficiaries given seasonal agricultural calendars and limited opportunities at that time of year. 66. The involvement of beneficiaries is based on the household rather than the individual and this is consistent with well-established policy and practice for public works in this region. This allows flexibility for the household to choose who carries out the work and try to balance this commitment with other demands. This rationale also aims to increase the options for women’s participation in works and decisions on the nature of these. 67. Despite the resource constraints that have persisted throughout the CP, the programme has continued to target a broad geographical area as well as cover all interested households (self-selecting) within each selected VDC. Research, (see Annex 6), observation and discussion with beneficiaries illustrates that there are varying degrees of household wealth within any VDC and opportunities exist to focus limited resources on the most vulnerable households, rather than spread them thinly across the community. WFP’s approach to reduce working days per household to 18, rather than reduce the number of households targeted is highly questionable as all stakeholders doubt the effectiveness of such low inputs on asset quality and as food safety nets. 68. There appeared to be a high degree of demand for the RCIW approach in terms of labour-based “green roads”, focusing on improvements to rural infrastructure and livelihood options at the community level. However, beneficiaries did voice some frustrations that this approach did not allow for occasional use of mechanized equipment for particularly difficult road stretches with hard rock outcrops. 69. RCIW earnings vary in terms of providing food, cash or a combination of food and cash. Preferences for food were often expressed in more remote areas far from markets and decent road connectivity. In a cash-and-food initiative in Jumlakot most informants stated they were happy with this for its value in providing immediate food supplies plus cash for other uses. Also, both men and women informants commented on the risks of cash being used up quickly or squandered. However, when asked about how cash was used, the most consistent ranking was for household food consumption at lean times; clothing; education and items for children. There was also mention of debt servicing. WFP’s approach to systematic assessment of the most beneficial transfer (cash or food or a combination) by location is therefore an appropriate approach. 70. Around half of the beneficiary respondents stated that they preferred to work full time over a single span of consecutive days so they could focus on completing their tasks, get their earnings quickly and return to other activities. Others valued the opportunity to work part time over a longer period and mix the public works with other activities. There was a slightly stronger tendency amongst women towards the latter option which could be due to the multi-tasking challenges faced by women in this area: for a large proportion of households, women bear the burden of managing multiple responsibilities in the absence of adult males for most of the year such as cooking, childcare and care of elderly relatives, farming and often participating in public works opportunities. The current approach is therefore appropriate, but should continue to seek beneficiary views and assess the appropriateness of the type and intensity of the work as well as how the workload can best be apportioned.

71. There was basic provision for enabling high dependency ratio households to take part in complementary tasks such as carrying drinking water for works crews but no further creativity was apparent such as provision for those less physically able to take roles such as looking after children, cooking snacks, providing first aid, or managing record-keeping, for example. 72. Concerns were raised about the appropriateness of the assets prioritised and how much they reflect the priorities of women in the communities. There may be missed opportunities to prioritise development of assets that better support women’s priorities, reduce their workload and respond to immediate needs, such as access to clean drinking water and sanitation. 73. The RWEE programme provides appropriately tailored livelihood and agricultural support specifically to women, including the training of 24 rural women to become village animal health workers. It has provided part-time employment to 50 field group facilitators (45 women and 5 men) to support district technical officers to implement the programme in the districts. Although it is still early, there may be learning from this project that could be applied to RCIW approaches. b. Coherence with government policy and partners 74. The FFA programme is consistent with government policy and priorities at national and district level that focuses on “social protection through public works”. This includes an emphasis on improving rural infrastructure and providing off-season cash or food-earning opportunities; labour-based “green roads”; improvements to livelihood options; and seeking improved connectivity to markets and services for remote communities. The WFP FFA targets food-insecure VDCs and is a specific initiative within a broader public works approach common across all the mid and far west districts. However, as the new national social protection policy is developed it will be important to ensure it continues to be well-aligned with emerging thinking. 75. The Government allocated matching funds of US$ 2 million in both 2014 and 2015 through financial resources and technical expertise towards WFP’s partnership with MOFALD in delivering RCIW activities, which provides clear evidence of alignment (see below and Annex 6: Reflections on livelihoods, food security, and public works in the Mid and Far West districts, for further analysis and comment on key technical issues). In 2015 the government started independently establishing and managing its own food assistance programme in 14 out of the 21 RCIW districts. 76. In the field the evaluation team found a mixed picture on the level of coherence with planning, prioritisation and complementary resourcing. There is some evidence of overlapping public works initiatives covering the same communities and households, for instance the Karnali Employment Programme (KEP) working in the same community as RCIW in Jumlakot. This observation is supported by research conducted in Kalikot and Jumla.27 77. The RWEE project represents an important joint UN approach where priorities and expertise of the three organisations come together in a multisectoral approach to livelihoods and gender.

27 Assessment of public works programmes in the Karnali region, July 2014, Karnali Employment Programme Technical Assistance (KEPTA). 12

c. Alignment with relevant WFP strategies and policies 78. WFP’s Policy on Vouchers and Cash notes WFP’s comparative advantages in Livelihood and asset creation.28 The Nepal programme is fairly consistent with these noted advantages and drivers of programming. However, the ET noted a declining ability to meet the expectations of delivery at scale; an element of slowness to move forward on alternatives when assessing cash and food options; some scope for improvements on synergies in other aspects of WFP programming; and a question over WFP’s ability to move with the times on the changing environment, from traditional approaches to more suitable alternatives. 79. The Update on Safety Nets Policy 2012 notes WFP’s critical role in social protection through safety nets as they relate to food assistance for food and nutrition security. The policy mentions the need for a range of robust programming choices such as targeting, and the need for specific expertise for social protection, and context specific evidence. The focus of RCIW on food insecure areas is consistent with this, as is the contribution of NeKSAP to the analytical intelligence gathering on this problem. However, both considerations of targeting and ensuring adequate social protection expertise appear to be under-developed. 80. WFP’s Policy on Building Resilience for Food Security and Nutrition 2015 stresses an approach to programming that helps to mitigate the damaging effects of shocks and stressors on food security and nutrition. Coherence of RCIW with this policy appears limited, as provision of food and cash is restricted to the short term, and few activities (e.g. flood protection measures) relate directly to strengthening resilience to shocks. The majority of RCIW projects have insufficient technical input on quality construction that could help ensure sustainability and ongoing resilience to shocks, such as proper drainage on roads. It is hard to see how this could be genuinely contributing to longer term resilience beyond a short-term food and income lifeline in lean months. As noted in Annex 6, pp89, Government district level technical (engineering) capacity is limited and over-stretched, resulting in limited ability to meet overall mandated coordination and supervision responsibilities. Education Support a. Appropriateness to the needs of the population 81. WFP school feeding encourages primary school children, especially girls, to enrol, attend and remain in school and provide an incentive to their parents to prioritise school attendance. It therefore serves as an appropriate strategy for educational support for children. 82. Key informants appreciate that children require sufficient food and nutrition to think, learn and grow intellectually. School feeding provides a foundation for education for the poorest children especially in rural and marginalised villages in the areas targeted by WFP.

28 These include i) unparalleled field presence, outreach and capacity to implement large-scale programmes, particularly in remote and risky environments; ii) extensive experience working with partners, including governments, United Nations agencies and a large number of non-governmental organizations, (including national and community-based), iii) comprehensive analytical capacity with regard to vulnerability, needs and market assessments at the national, regional, community and household levels; iv) the capacity to identify the appropriateness and feasibility of voucher and cash transfer programmes in both lower- and higher-capacity contexts; v) significant synergies with WFP’s existing programming platform for the design, implementation and evaluation of food transfer programmes; vi) multi-year and ongoing practical implementation experience with vouchers and cash transfers; and vii) the potential to consistently provide voucher, cash transfer and food transfer programmes according to local circumstances, and to flexibly switch their use as circumstances change over time. 13

83. The Supercereal is a micronutrient rich food which provides essential daily nutrients to school children, which may be lacking in their diet at home during lean periods. From that point of view it is nutritionally superior to a traditional meal of dal and rice and supports children’s growth and health. 84. WFP has appropriately targeted food insecure VDCs in agreement with the DOE and in complement to the Government’s programme. However, school feeding is not systematically provided to all children in targeted VDCs, as only schools with grades 1 to 5 have been assisted to date, while those schools that extend from Grade 1 to 8 or through secondary have been excluded. This has led to some challenges at district level where children are drawn to schools where school feeding is happening, resulting in overcrowding in some schools and lower caseloads in others without school feeding. It has also raised some issues around equity. This targeting issue has been a challenge for WFP, as the attempt to align with Government policy of basic education up to Grade 5 only has been at odds with WFP’s aims of targeting up to Grade 8. In 2016 the Government has declared basic education to grade 8, so WFP is now extending the programme to schools with grades 1 to 8 and thereby addressing some of these issues. b. Coherence with Government policy and partners 85. WFP is engaged in strategic partnerships with MOE, DOE, FFEP and District Education Offices (DEO) and collaborates on the delivery of the activities. Interviews with the Government and cooperating partners affirmed that school feeding programmes in Nepal are highly appreciated as areas of strong WFP expertise, appropriately targeted to very vulnerable areas of the Mid and Far West. 86. The MOE has introduced the School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) 2016-2023 in a bid to improve the learning environment as well as to enhance the overall quality of education across the country and ensure access to quality education for all. School feeding is incorporated in the SSDP as an essential tool for the development and growth of children, communities, and society as a whole. SSDP recognizes school feeding as one of the equity strategies of basic education. WFP is acknowledged as an active partner that provided strategic inputs to the SSDP. 87. School Feeding is included in the national plan - System Approach for Better Education Result (SABER) and WFP’s programme is aligned with all of these components, except for the objective to incorporate local produce into the supply chain. Since the Supercereal is provided in-kind from the U.S., it does not encourage local production, nor does it represent a sustainable strategy for a nationally-owned or community supported programme. 88. Discussions with the CO reveal that plans are afoot to move from Supercereal to a dal and fortified rice meal. This could promote incorporation of local produce if food commodities are eventually locally sourced, thus requiring a shift in resourcing for WFP from in-kind to cash provisions (not currently possible under the current donor). There may be nutritional implications of such a shift, as Supercereal usually provides a broader mix of vitamins and minerals than fortified rice and greater fat content than a rice and dal meal. 89. While the Government is working closely with WFP in the current programme, it is important to note that in the districts where the Government is operating its own school feeding programme it is applying a different model, providing cash rather than directly supplying food commodities. This raises implications for eventual

handover and sustainability of the WFP intervention, as it would require substantial adjustment to be assimilated by Government. 90. As Nepal has made firm progress towards achieving its target for universal primary education, quality of education has become a core focus of the government and its development partners. The holistic approach of WFP’s education support, including WASH, literacy and infrastructure fits well with this focus. Cooperating partners indicated that when integrated into comprehensive education programmes, school feeding supports a good learning environment and can fuel educational opportunities, social protection and gender empowerment. 91. USAID supports a large Early Grade Reading (EGR) Programme, covering 16 districts in Nepal. Although largely in different districts to WFP, some frictions exist in perceptions of collaboration and coherence between the programmes. c. Alignment with relevant WFP strategies and policies 92. Education support with the aim of reducing drop-out rates, increasing attendance and school retention, and maintaining high enrolment rates is aligned with WFP’s Revised School Feeding Policy 2013 and contributes to the achievement of universal primary education (MDG 2/SDG 4 Quality Education). 93. The Education programme is in line with WFP’s Global Strategic Objective 4 goal to increase access to education and health services, contribute to learning, improve nutrition and health for children, adolescent girls and their families. It is aligned with WFP’s 2015 Resilience policy through reducing opportunity costs of education of girls and boys through buffering food security of the poorest households. 94. The holistic approach to Education support appears to be expanding WFP’s role beyond the scope of its corporate School Feeding Policy29 and, while the activities are highly relevant to supporting the goals of improving access to quality education, some activities such as literacy and WASH appear to fall beyond WFP’s core mandate and expertise. Nutrition Support / MCHN a. Appropriateness to the needs of the population 95. The high prevalence of stunting and iron-deficiency anaemia among children under-5 years documented in the baseline study, affirmed the need for intervention in the Mid and Far West and justified the CP objective to reduce undernutrition. The prevalence of anaemia was 52.5 percent for children aged 6-59 months in the sixteen programme districts of the baseline survey (52.8 percent in boys and 52.0 percent in girls), reaching as high as 64 percent in Jumla and Humla, exceeding the national average of 46 percent. Stunting prevalence in children under-5 was 48 percent for the sixteen districts (47.5 percent in boys and 48.4 percent in girls), reaching 57 percent in Humla, compared to a national average of 41 percent. 96. Discussions with key informants and beneficiaries during the evaluation further supported the appropriateness of providing nutritional support in hard-to reach areas, many of which attain food self-sufficiency for just 3-4 months of the year. These communities also face considerable constraints to optimal infant and young child feeding practices that are well-documented and require addressing.

29 WFP Revised School Feeding Policy, 25 October 2013. 15

97. In light of restricted resource flows, a decision was taken with MOHP at the start of the CP to target just three of the planned districts. While Jumla and Mugu exhibit extremely high rates of anaemia and stunting alongside high food insecurity, Solukhumbu does not clearly stand out as the most appropriate choice for the third intervention district, based on the data available from the baseline survey. The stunting prevalence in Humla of 57 percent suggests it should have higher priority. In addition, discussions in Jumla confirmed that not all VDCs within a district face the same level of vulnerability and food insecurity. Targeting of selected VDCs, as is done for RCIW, may therefore be an under-explored option to use limited funds more effectively, and ensure continued support over the CP to fewer VDCs. 98. Key stakeholders found the MCHN approach relevant in terms of providing nutritious supplementary foods to children under-2 and pregnant and lactating women alongside health and nutrition education and counselling. However, partners, district government and community members all strongly advocated for an approach that would enhance skills and behaviour change in the community and enable them to do more for themselves in the longer-term. It was proposed that MCHN activities could be implemented alongside income generating activities, kitchen gardening and the development of other practical skills. In some places Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) and other organisations are supporting such activities, which could offer opportunity for linkages. 99. The findings under Results, reveal that beneficiary engagement in the programme was not as high as might be expected, with a large proportion of eligible and enrolled beneficiaries showing erratic attendance in the nutrition outcome report. Conversely, clinic staff, WFP and cooperating partners report monthly attendance by the majority of beneficiaries. These findings require further investigation to fully understand the acceptability and appropriateness of the MCHN approach for the communities and may reveal opportunities for programme refinements and improved targeting. 100. The IMAM programme has now started in Jumla and in other WFP focus districts. While in Jumla it was reported that there is currently very little acute malnutrition, it is important that WFP and the MOHP consider the complementarity of the MCHN approach with the IMAM approach and seek to ensure the most appropriate form of support is provided and that MCHN remains relevant. For example, children aged 2-5 years are currently not covered by MCHN, but included in the IMAM strategy. Currently, the lack of available nutrition surveillance data makes it difficult to assess the needs of this group against those of the 6-23 months’ old children. b. Coherence with Government policy and partners 101. Nutrition support was firmly aligned with Government policy at the start of the CP and WFP is considered a major partner for the National Nutrition Programme (NNP). A five-year bilateral agreement was signed at the start of the CP between the Government and WFP. Under this agreement, the Government committed to procure food while WFP offered technical assistance and support to logistics with the aim of transferring the entire logistics management to the Government over time. 102. The MCHN approach is in line with the Government’s priority of prevention of malnutrition and its counselling approach contributed to, and is aligned with, the national IYCF/MIYCN strategy, guidelines and manuals, providing regular,

qualitative counselling to mothers and caregivers on a monthly basis. However, the blanket supplementary feeding (BSFP) component of the MCHN activity, while currently jointly funded by Government is not comprehensively included and budgeted in the MSNP, and therefore not explicitly reflected within the strategic approach. As development of MSNP2 gets underway, there is an opportunity to consider the relevance of the programme to the collective efforts to address malnutrition in the country and to ensure that the approach remains aligned or to adapt the approach accordingly. 103. UNICEF is a key partner for WFP in nutrition activities and the two agencies have worked closely together to support the Government to develop IMAM guidelines. Their approach to IYCF support is aligned and there is a good relationship for future opportunities for collaboration. c. Alignment with relevant WFP strategies and policies 104. The intervention is aligned with WFP’s Nutrition Policy 2012. MCHN clearly aligns with the objective to prevent chronic malnutrition, while work at the policy level on IMAM guidelines conforms to the objective of treating acute malnutrition. WFP is also active at the capacity development level in Nepal, working with Government and other stakeholders to improve the approach to nutrition challenges in the country. There is some concern amongst national stakeholders that this role could be strengthened. 105. Between 2012 and 2015 the CO supported the Low Birth Weight South Asia Trial, led by University College London to attempt to assess the effectiveness of supplementary feeding on birth weight outcomes. 106. WFP’s Nutrition Policy places emphasis on sustainability and cost-effectiveness. There are some concerns regarding these aspects of the current MCHN intervention in terms of community acceptability and ownership, discussed above and explored further under Results. 107. The MCHN activity currently uses locally-produced Supercereal, which is not strictly aligned with WFP recommendations on most appropriate commodities for prevention of chronic malnutrition. This however, needs to be considered against the desire for sustainable local solutions in combating malnutrition. 108. Nutrition support is aligned with WFP’s 2015 Resilience Policy in terms of MCHN’s promotion of a healthier start in life for children, reducing their vulnerability to short-term or seasonal shocks in food security. Capacity Development 109. As illustrated in the sections above, all components of the CP work in close alignment and collaboration with Government and contribute to priority interventions for the Government. The associated capacity development activities of WFP, which have included training of Government counterparts, awareness-raising in communities and contributions to national strategy and policy are considered to be highly appropriate by the Government representatives interviewed, in assisting them to move forward with key strategies and priorities. 110. NeKSAP is being implemented under a tripartite MoU between the National Planning Commission, MOAD and WFP. Commitment to its institutionalisation in policy was affirmed in the Government of Nepal’s Thirteenth Three Year Plan 2013/14-2015/16. A key component of the handover process to Government has

been an ongoing series of trainings and close accompaniment by WFP staff to prepare Government staff and build their confidence to lead the process in future. These activities have been carefully tailored to the existing competencies and available human resource capacity of Government in order to ensure a truly sustainable approach. 111. WFP’s 2015 Resilience Policy and Policy on Disaster risk reduction and management 2011 stress a programming approach that helps mitigate damaging effects of shocks and stressors before, during and after crises. Both policies recognize this requires a significant level of collaboration over a prolonged period. The WFP 2015 earthquake response was a good example of the appropriateness of specific resilience investment through the Humanitarian Staging Area. Cross-cutting issues 112. WFP has exhibited a firm commitment to women’s empowerment through the inclusion of project objectives to target girls in equal numbers to boys in school feeding, and to push for equal numbers of women and men in management committees. In addition, it is jointly implementing the UN RWEE project to specifically focus on women’s livelihoods support. As stated, women have been encouraged to participate actively in public meetings and take leadership roles; decision-making over use of household monies by both men and women is being promoted. However, the new gender policy 2015-2020, was published after the start of the CP and is yet to be rolled out within WFP Nepal. Corporate guidance on gender prior to this did not lead to an in-depth gender needs assessment and analysis at the CP design stage. 113. The design of the CP could have been tailored more closely to support women’s empowerment and equality through an early assessment of women’s specific priorities and needs alongside those of men. For example, in the context of a large majority of men out-migrating for work for 6-8 months of the year, men are still dominating decision-making and planning processes across all CP components. 114. WFP CO and field staff continues to be dominated by men (69 percent men in 2015, improved from 74 percent in 2013), while cooperating partner staff have managed to advance their gender balance at the field level. 115. The two points above have relevance for protection issues, as many women are highly vulnerable within their own communities and potentially within project participation in the context of out-migration of males for several months. Not only are they burdened with all the duties of the household and the project, they are also limited within their communities and within the project structures to voice concerns and make decisions. Although SPR data indicates very few protection issues met, the available reporting mechanisms do not adequately reflect context- specific issues, nor provide channels for comprehensive reporting. 116. WFP has introduced complaints and feedback mechanisms in its emergency earthquake response as part of its commitment to beneficiary accountability. These have not yet been rolled out across the CP, but are planned going forward. Public Audits, carried out by the community User Committees, are a well-established accountability mechanism throughout Nepal. These are commonly used, and are often a mandatory requirement for projects, with around three taking place during the project lifecycle. WFP has adopted these and is consistent with government and other actors’ standards. The use of photos in monitoring was well regarded by stakeholders and staff for its usefulness in collecting visual evidence on progress.

There is scope to combine this with an improved technical quality monitoring function, as photographic evidence can be a powerful tool for illustrating quality issues, particularly within infrastructure projects. 117. The involvement of the Nepal Investment Bank (NIB) in providing branchless banking for cash transfers is regarded by stakeholders as an effective way of involving private sector expertise for this particular context. 118. In terms of accountability to partners and donors, the ET notes that WFP should have scaled-down its projections and rationalise the planned CP beneficiary numbers earlier in the areas of MCHN and RCIW. The plan was unrealistic from the start of the operation, and was clearly unfeasible once the 2013 resource commitments were seen. However, the CO did appropriately engage in a structure and staffing review in 2014 and take the difficult, but appropriate action of cutting staff posts. 119. WFP has maintained cordial relationships with UN partners, several donors and NGO consortia, yet the quality of this engagement was raised as an issue by many key informants. More open dialogue was requested, as well as WFP’s engagement in broader development and humanitarian issues and investment in working with others outside the narrow remit of its own programmatic focus. 2.2. Results of the Operation Livelihoods and asset creation 120. The RCIW programme overall is achieving neither scale and coverage nor the quality and impact on communities that it sets out, largely due to resource constraints. The approach to limited resources has largely been to try to maintain geographical coverage with reduced working day allowances. This has resulted in an average of 18 days per household, amounting to maximum earnings of around Nepalese Rupee (NPR) 7,200 or US$ 68.30 A consistent request from beneficiaries (and also from district and national government informants) was for an increase of working days, with a minimum of 35-40 days per household per project year being a commonly suggested figure. 121. In order to understand more fully the longer-term trends in the number of beneficiaries reached, the evaluation team looked at SPR data going back to 2010. See Figure 17. Figure 17: FFA beneficiary targets and actuals: 2010-2015 FFA targets/actual beneficiaries

410,335 500,000 410,335 410,335 100% 400,000 75% 300,000 168,795 50% 200,000 113,155 28,000 14,000 14,000 9,392 25% 100,000 0 0 0 0 0% 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Planned Actual % achieved

Source: SPR data, 2010-2015. NB: Two years of data prior to the current CP are included to assess CO recent history of funding/target setting for RCIW programming.

30 Impact Assessment report 2016. 19

122. Given the low achievements against plan over several years and resource problems reported, the ET question why such ambitious targets were set for the current strategy period. As can be seen, the best performing year so far, 2014, achieved 41 percent and then saw a drop to 28 percent during 2015. The two years prior to the current CP indicate that the CO did not receive any funding for FFA programming. 123. This translates into declining person-days of work available at the community level, and average earnings by households (see Figure 18 and Figure 19). Figure 18: Person days of work from selected sites.

Source: beneficiary feedback during field work focus groups, cross checked with staff. NB: Calculated by multiplying numbers of participating households by days’ allowance. Figure 19: RCIW household earnings from sites visited HH RCIW earnings from field sites visited

15000 10000 5000 0 Jumlakot Rakam K Rakam K Rakam K Dandagaun Banne Banne road Bagir road road Fish pond irrigation flood road irrigation protection

2013 2014 2015 2016

Source: beneficiary feedback during field work focus groups, cross checked with staff. NB: Calculated by multiplying wage rate by average numbers of days’ allowance.31 124. As can be seen in Figure 18 and Figure 19, work days’ availability and earnings arising from these has dropped by almost 50 percent for those sites that have been working for the last three or four years within the current country programme. 125. The reduction in numbers of available days of work has had an impact on road asset quality. With declining waged labour days allowances, the target for the stretches of road have not been reduced. The target for a small community is set by WFP and partners as around one kilometer per year. The same target has been set even though there are a reduced number of person-days of labour. This is resulting in less time to complete the works properly. All the partners agreed that the priority for RCIW’s works programme should be on “demonstrably productive” assets that could be seen as tangible contributions to economic growth and there was frustration expressed about short term commitments undermining this. 126. WFP reported “Over 50 km of rural roads contributed to improved road accessibility for more than 100,000 people” in SPR 2015. The fact that 100 percent completion was achieved on the new and rehabilitated roads with diminished

31 Where cash and food was combined food (rice) is monetised at 40 NPR/Kg. 20

resources suggests there were reductions in quality of the works and this was observed by the evaluation team. 127. The contribution to increased accessibility to roads that connect communities with improved market and transport networks is dependent on initiatives being part of a broader plan. In three of the four observed rural roads, the completed stretches would be better described as widened tracks due to the narrowness of sections owing mostly to rock outcrops. This makes it an easier walk for people and pack animals and is mostly passable by motorcycles; however, without significant additional works they will remain unusable for four-wheel vehicles. In all roads observed the terrain understandably heavily influenced the progress of the road, particularly the underlying rock type (affecting how easy it is to break outcrops), soil types, vegetation coverage, and the gradient of slopes. These factors influence the relative stability of land above and below the road, as well as flood and landslide risks and drainage challenges. 128. It is helpful to differentiate between rural road works, and other types of interventions observed, such as fish ponds, micro-hydro and irrigation schemes, in terms of tangible results against stated expectations; the fit within a larger plan; and the prospects for sustainability and maintenance. The latter type of initiative is more readily recognizable as tangible productive assets where the immediate benefits are quite quickly seen and there is greater likelihood that these will be maintained by the community. In the case of the observed small-scale irrigation schemes and fish ponds, beneficiaries were more able to readily articulate benefits that were derived as a result of the intervention in terms of hectares of land reliably irrigated and kilos of fish produced. 129. There were noticeable differences relating to coherence with local planning and resource commitments between road sections observed on the Jumlakot and Bagir road works, where both projects had been working for at least three years (Table 2: Comparison of achievements of two rural roads). Whilst these observations are based on only two road section examples, it is a useful comparison of key factors determining progress and the quality and usefulness of the asset. It should be noted that Bagir had a larger target community workforce available, but the purpose of the comparison is to assess the likelihood of these assets meeting intended objectives that will such as increased connectivity to markets and services for users.

Table 2: Comparison of achievements of two rural roads Indicators Jumlakot Bagir

Partial: a 1-2 km section from river to Achieved (with ambition to meet the road, and river bridge not started extend road to other settlements Progress in or committed in coming years) reaching target village Total 7-8 km stretch Total 5-6 km stretch

Width in some sections down to 1-2 Yes metres and impassable for 4 wheel vehicles due to hard rock outcrops that Some vulnerable areas shored up could not be addressed within resources with retaining walls Quality: width provided. suitable for 4 wheel Note softer rock type in most vehicles Some vulnerable areas shored up with stretches than in Jumlakot retaining walls

KEP programme taking on section to skirt around the village due to densely packed houses meaning the road cannot pass through the village centre

Clear connectivity No clear plan or commitment on provision DDC was constructing a river with of the bridge at the main road junction, or crossing and so overcoming the complementary widening the first 1-2 km of steep narrow last barrier to connection to the initiatives trail main road

130. As can be seen from Figure 18 and Table 2, the Bagir road had a larger person-days allocation and this clearly contributed to a more successful completion than was possible in Jumlakot. At the time of the ET field visit the Bagir road was almost ready for 4-wheel vehicle use. Of equal significance, is the connectivity with planning commitments and complementary activities; in the Jumlakot project two sizeable barriers remained (the first 1-2 km trail stretch and a river bridge) that are necessary for the road to connect to the network. There were no reported commitments in place yet to address these. In such cases there is an obvious risk that a proportion of community road assets remain “roads to nowhere” and declining into unusable tracks if not clearly tied to a committed plan and set of resources on the whole road section. 131. The 2016 Impact Assessment reported that there was no evidence on maintenance systems or funds being established for asset maintenance and that beneficiaries had requested clarity and commitment on this; the ET similarly found no evidence on commitments. This issue has been raised regularly over the years in third party monitoring and evaluations and remains a serious concern. The responsibility for assets most often falls to User Committees (UC), and involves members of the works groups. In the case of assets such as the fish ponds and irrigation schemes that have a direct impact on household production and income, user motivation to maintain the asset is likely to be higher than that for a broader “public good” such as a road. District officials stated that around five percent of the district road budget was allocated for maintenance but it is hard to see how the small village roads constructed through RCIW could compete for such resources with the important

district core network roads. Assets are likely to be more sustainable and productive if there is a clear maintenance plan set out in advance. As noted earlier, there is a real risk that assets that have been constructed will deteriorate in the absence of maintenance provision. 132. Many stakeholders believe that the waged works available has been reducing out- migration by men to India. Perceptions on decreased out-migration was mentioned by five percent of informants (of n=763) in the 2016 Impact Assessment. A common theory is that if sufficient cash or food for work days were available in these communities, this would decrease seasonal migration to India: “If we had 6 months’ cash works then why would we leave?” (group of beneficiary males during this evaluation). The ET met large numbers of men in the communities (this was just before the Dashain festival and the time of year when migrants return home) and the vast majority said that they had been to India during this year. The impact of public works on seasonal migration remains an under-researched area. There is some evidence from beneficiary feedback that public works availability has a short term outcome in influencing a shortening of the period of migration for some households as discussion with some groups (both male and female) noting that some men were tending to return roughly a month earlier than would have been the case if the works had not been available. 133. One of the major outcomes of this project is the empowerment of women. Initial progress can be seen with beneficiary women stating that they are increasingly able to participate in the public forum meetings, and have taken up roles in executive positions of the user committees. However, these are still falling short of the target, with SPR data noting 38 percent of women were in leadership positions in project management committees in 2015 against a baseline of 34 percent (2013) and a target of 50 percent. There was quite consistent feedback from women informants that they felt they had started to have some control over their own income. SPR 2015 data shows that in just 7.3 percent of households women make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food (down from 19.3 percent in 2014), but in 48.3 percent of households men and women make decisions together (up from 39.3 percent in 2014), which suggests mixed progress. According to the Gender Impact Assessment of RCIW (July 2014) women have earned social recognition and dignity through their engagement in the projects; the receipt of equal wages for their labour being an important factor. Similarly, women can open account in their names, a key approach of the programme to receive payments (even though many women don’t actually use it and defer control to their husbands). While assets to be developed by the project are decided in response to community priorities and through community meetings, beneficiaries and key informants highlighted that men are the decision-makers in communities and the opinions of women are less likely to be heard in public meetings. 134. The SPR noted an increase in acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS) from a baseline of 60.6 percent in female-headed households and 66.5 percent in male- headed households in 2013 to around 79.6 percent in female-headed and 82.5 percent in male-headed households in 2015 against a target of 93 percent. This is encouraging progress. However, it is also worth noting the lack of movement of the indicator on female-headed households with poor FCS, which has remained at four percent. This suggests that the benefits struggle to reach some of the most marginalised households. In the absence of any targeting of the poorest and most

vulnerable households, the effects of the declining provision must be disproportionately affecting those households that can least afford to cope. 135. Most informant groups met during this evaluation said that tools provision had been adequate and timely, although there were some instances of the tools arriving late and in one case the beneficiaries undertook the works largely using their own tools. The 2016 Impact assessment32 reported beneficiary complaints on the quantity of tools provided and noted a lack of provision of safety gear and safety- related training and logistics support; it also noted that RCIW is lagging behind other donor-funded rural infrastructure projects being implemented in these districts. The ET agrees with this conclusion from observations in the field sites. All groups were asked about injuries sustained during the works. There were many instances of minor injuries but no serious injuries were reported. Insurance provision for injuries was in place but the vast majority of beneficiaries were not aware of this. Partners were also unclear about this. WFP staff indicated that this was partly intentional due to concerns about a “claims culture”: whilst understandable this is not in line with the approaches of most other public works programmes that adopt a more open approach on insurance provision. For additional analysis see Annex 6: Reflections on livelihoods, food security, and public works in the Mid and Far West districts. 136. The findings within this evaluation resonate strongly with previous evaluations such as the 2014 FFA Synthesis Report, the Nepal FFA Impact Assessment Report of 2016 and the 2012 FFA Impact Evaluation. The 2014 evaluation, noted successes in delivering broadly relevant and appropriate food assistance (and cash alternatives), school feeding activities, and in influencing policy. The ET found similar weaknesses in analysis and planning resulting in weaknesses in meeting specific beneficiary needs, along with deficits in gender sensitive planning and prioritisation, technical quality assurance and maintenance of assets. The synthesis noted these weaknesses as symptomatic of an organisation in transition. The ET would echo this conclusion, noting WFP’s struggle to adapt to the evolving corporate resilience approach and to improve areas that have been identified as weaknesses for some years in the context of declining resources. Education Support 137. WFP’s school feeding support is recognised by MOE, DOE and teachers as efficient and effective in contributing towards the achievement of educational goals. WFP largely delivers Supercereal on time to extended delivery points (EDPs) and it reaches targeted schools33, according to stakeholders met, with gaps or delays only observed at times of extreme adverse weather or political action (such as the Indian blockade period). 138. Education support is the best-funded component of the CP, though it has achieved a little over 50 percent of the planned beneficiaries to date, largely as a result of alignment with Government policy which reduced the targeted population to grades 1-5 and pre-primary, when the initial plan had been to cover children up to Grade 8. 139. School feeding is provided for every child under basic education in selected VDCs and schools. Girls’ enrolment is currently higher than boys reflecting population

32 Impact Assessment of the RCIW Programme, July 2016. Sustainable Infrastructure Development Foundation (SIDeF). 33 From the EDP, MOE is responsible for transportation to FDP from where the schools themselves collect it. 24

numbers and thereby gender equality.34 The negative values in the rate of change in number of boys and girls enrolled annually are partly attributed to the introduction of Education Management Information System (EMIS), which has strengthened data verification and reduced reports of inflated numbers. The DEO in Dailek also stated that numbers of children enrolled is decreasing in targeted schools as families are increasingly migrating to the district town of Surkhet. 140. All parents, teachers, SMC and FMC representatives highly valued the daily school feeding, which they believe serves as a strong incentive to send children to school and to remain at school. They believe that it helps to increase school enrolment and attendance, decrease drop-out rates, improve cognitive abilities and enables children to focus on their studies. 141. Children commented that they enjoy coming to school for play, food, reading and writing, and have an ambition to become a “great person” by learning at school. Most of the children who participated in FGD mentioned that “I like to study and I want to go to college someday." 142. Teachers reported that undernourished children are typically fatigued, more susceptible to illness, more likely to be absent from school in the afternoon and uninterested in their social environments. School feeding operates as an effective pull factor, drawing the most vulnerable children back into the classroom, meeting the basic food needs and helping to retain them for the whole day. 143. SPR 2015 figures show that attendance rates for both boys and girls have increased over the period of the CP, from 72.3 percent and 71.3 percent respectively at baseline to 81 percent for both in 2015. This is corroborated by the reports of teachers in schools visited during the evaluation. 144. In schools visited where many children are from Majhi and Magar ethnic and Dalit caste groups, staff and parents stated that the school feeding programme acts as a gateway for equality, because it welcomes everyone without discrimination. Food incentives have been especially helpful in bringing girls into school, and assisting to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and discrimination. School feeding is especially powerful for girls and Dalit students in low-income households, where parents are often forced to choose between sending their daughters for work or marriage at a young age or having enough food to go around. 145. Despite these positive outcomes, there are some ongoing challenges. FMCs continue to be dominated by men, despite efforts by WFP to promote gender balance. The proportion of women in leadership positions of FMCs has increased from 13 percent in 2014 to 24.4 percent in 2015 (SPR data), which represents an impressive increase within a year, although there is still concern over whether the voices of these women are heard or whether the positions merely represent tokenism. 146. In schools visited, teachers and parents reported that FMC and SMC members do not have time to come to school as the majority of the men migrate and work in India during the off season (October to March). This is a problem as men are holding key positions in SMCs and FMCs yet are not playing significant roles in organising and managing school feeding. It was found that parents’ contribution,

34 WFP equally targets girls and boys in its Education Support, however girls enrolment is higher than boys in public school. Since the girls’ population is higher than boys in the VDC, more girls were enrolled in the school. In addition, government has taken positive affirmative action for girls and Dalit for increasing their enrolment and regular attendance. But all children are in school, boys are not left out. 25

especially mothers, was much higher in terms of their time given to carry Supercereal from the FDP to the school. 147. It was observed that there was no separate store to keep Supercereal in any of the schools visited, and most often it was stored in the school principal’s office. In one early childhood development (ECD) centre, the Supercereal was stored and cooked at the ECD facilitator’s home as there was no kitchen facility in the ECD centre. In four schools visited, a temporary kitchen was set up for preparing food. Cooperating partners confirmed that in many remote schools there are no kitchen facilities; the 2015 Outcome survey, found 45 percent of sampled schools had no separate kitchen. While cooks and staff demonstrated clear knowledge on food handling and preparation, learned through WFP trainings,35 it was difficult for them to put these trainings into practice where infrastructure was lacking. 148. Due to the school feeding programme certain primary schools are overcrowded while there has been no extension of other facilities by the Government, such as numbers of teachers, classrooms or other physical facilities. In grade one, many children are repeaters and lots of under-aged children come to school with younger siblings where there is no ECD so that they can participate in school feeding. 149. Knowledge on washing hands before eating and after using the toilet appears to have been internalised by the children in the schools visited and children and partners reported that children are taking this practice home and requesting their parents to provide soap. 150. In terms of available WASH facilities, there are disparities between schools. In some, separate, clean toilets for girls and boys are available with adequate water and soap for handwashing. Children in such schools are involved in preparation of IEC materials and making a routine plan for cleaning toilets. However, in many schools, soap is irregularly supplied and water provision lacking, while in many school, toilets are not functional. This is especially a problem for girls and it is a known contributor to poor attendance. 151. Cooperating partners stated that although national data indicates 85 percent coverage for drinking water in the Far West, actual coverage is only around 50 percent. The Outcome survey 2015 found that 62 percent of the sampled schools had a functional water supply in the school premises. Sanitation and water is still a huge issue in the CP regions, and WFP partners currently focus only on behavioral change aspects (apart from the infrastructure support provided in Bajhang district). Although a small maintenance budget is allocated by the DEO, it can easily be diverted for other uses, such as in one school where the SMC used it for an additional teachers’ salary. 152. The EGR component is implemented in coordination with DEOs, Education Training Centers, FFEP, and other stakeholders. CP funding supported the revision and production of 1,939 EGR materials in coordination with Government, including reading charts, story books, reading and game cards, as well as classroom motivation and assessment materials; the training of 57 teachers as Master Trainers and basic EGR teacher training for 2,680 teachers; and the engagement of over 68,000 young children in learning activities. Students are showing enthusiasm for the materials and lessons, according to partners, teachers and students interviewed. Over 40,000 parents participated in the awareness meetings at school.

35 Ninety school supervisors and DEO resource persons attended a Training of Trainers on food safety, nutrition, and WASH in 2014 and then trained cooks and members of FMCs and SMCs in all programme schools. 26

153. Reading Motivators support teachers in the classroom, and engage parents and communities to promote a culture of reading in Grades 1-3. Teachers mentioned that IEC materials are very easy to use and children are developing a strong interest in learning, resulting in improved reading outcomes. Certificates are awarded to children for progress between levels. 154. EGR does not cover the primary grade children who are studying in schools where there is both primary and secondary school provision, as the school feeding programme is not implemented in these schools. Issues of “discrimination” were raised by Dailekh DEO who feels keenly that education initiatives must be provided to all schools equally in the district. 155. A good learning attitude among children and teachers was also noted towards the digital learning activities by WFP’s cooperating partners interviewed. One of the important requirements of this activity is the creation of a maintenance fund in each school which requires them to deposit NPR 25,000 (approximately US$235) at the start to ensure the sustainability of programme. The fund has not only helped maintain power and network equipment, but also increased community ownership of the programme. All 66 schools in the project have successfully created the maintenance fund through various community events and activities. However, the school selection process proved very challenging as many schools lack the criteria for laptop programmes such as physical infrastructure, sufficient qualified teachers, effective leadership and/or the necessary level of community participation. 156. School infrastructure support has focused on twenty schools in Bajhang district. Twenty school kitchens have been built or rehabilitated with better furniture and storage; twenty institutionalized, improved cooking stoves installed; and nineteen Drinking Water Management stations with child friendly taps and toilets were rehabilitated in twelve schools. Nutrition Support / MCHN 157. The nutrition component of the programme has been plagued throughout by a chronic lack of funding. In 2013 only five percent of planned numbers of beneficiaries were reached, increasing to just fifteen percent in 2014 and fourteen percent in 2015 (SPR data). 158. Initially the government and WFP jointly selected 168 VDCs in six highly food- insecure districts located in the high hills and mountainous regions of the country for distributing Supercereal to 24,700 pregnant and lactating women (PLW) and 85,300 children aged 6-23 months.36 Coverage has been reduced from the planned six districts to three throughout the CP: Humla, Jumla, Dolpa, Mugu, Kalikot and Solukhumbu were categorised as first priority districts, but only Jumla, Mugu and Solukhumbu have been reached to date. 159. Of the 110,000 beneficiaries planned (65,000 for prevention of stunting and 45,000 for treatment of moderate malnutrition), WFP was only able to reach 5,904 beneficiaries in one district (Solukhumbu) in 2013; in 2014 16,488 PLW and children aged 6 to 23 months were reached in the districts of Mugu, Jumla and Solukhumbu. In 2015, WFP assisted a total of 15,512 PLW and children or 94 percent of the reduced plan. In addition, while 97 percent of targeted health facilities were reached, only 59 percent of targeted pregnant and lactating women benefitted from the programme.

36 WFP SPR 2013. 27

160. WFP made a good effort to reach some men with health and nutrition education messages, however the numbers - 387 men targeted and reached in 2015 compared with 906 women – reveal that proportionally far fewer men were targeted than women. While mothers are the primary targets of nutrition education, the knowledge gained is not shared throughout the family and often those who are caring for children on a daily basis are not the mother if she is working in the fields. Grandparents, fathers and siblings are often taking on those roles but are ill- informed about best infant and young child feeding practices and do not adequately benefit from the nutrition counselling and support available. 161. Just 24 percent of women beneficiaries were in leadership positions in the Health Facility Operation Management Committee (HFoMC) by 2015, which is very low for an activity that is targeted predominantly to women and children. However, these committees comprised just 15 percent women prior to the start of MCHN activities in 2013 (SPR 2014), so clearly there was gradual improvement towards gender balance and women’s empowerment. Comparatively women’s active participation in HFOMC was found to be more visible in Jumla and Solukhumbu than in Mugu. The 2014 third party outcome monitoring report noted that of 30 committees monitored:  In nine committees (30 percent), women were able to express their views and issues in a strong and effective manner.  In sixteen committees (53 percent), women were able to raise their voices and concern in slightly limited level.  In five committees (17 percent), women were hardly able to express their views and concerns.

162. The 2015 outcome survey reported that only six out of thirty committees had a female member in a leadership position, which is very low. 163. The survey also found that all of the committees in Mugu and 75 percent in Jumla had received some training or orientation whereas in Solukhumbu only two out of eleven committees had received the training. 164. The MOHP is responsible for procurement and transport of the food to WFP’s logistics hubs in coordination with its district public health offices (DPHOs) and district health offices (DHOs). WFP’s role is to transport the food from the logistics hubs to the FDPs located in proximity of the health facilities at the VDC level. At the start of the programme the Government was slow to allocate and release funds for the food, so WFP stepped in to cover food costs. 165. During 2016 WFP’s funds have been severely constrained and while MOHP now has the committed funds to purchase the food, WFP has not had sufficient CP funding to deliver commodities. The communities are currently receiving support under the Karnali drought CERF funding, but implementation in 2017 is in doubt. 166. In terms of outcomes, the proportion of children consuming a minimum acceptable diet has increased annually, from 39 percent at baseline in December 2012, to an impressive 66.4 percent in December 2015. This is much higher than the national average (29.2 percent) and suggests that both food supplements and messages on improved infant and young child feeding practices are likely to be having an effect for targeted children under-2 years. The qualitative findings confirm that nutrition

and health messages have become well-known by beneficiaries, however constraints to their implementation remain, largely due to women’s workloads and gender roles in the household and community. 167. Participation of eligible beneficiaries in the programme (enrolment) is reportedly high at 94 percent (2015 SPR), however a discrepancy was noted in the outcome survey, which revealed consistency of attendance was low, with less than 60 percent of children aged 12-23 months reported by parents to have attended every month (see Table 3).

Table 3: Participation in MCHN distributions over 6 month’s period by age group Age group Number of food distributions participated in past 6 months to Aug/Sep 2015 1 2 3 4 5 6 6-11 17% 25% 16% 17% 17% N/A months * 12-17 1% 3% 4% 13% 23% 56% months 18-23 1% 0% 2% 14% 24% 59% months

Source: Outcome Monitoring through third party. Country Programme. Component 3: Nutrition Support. Scott Wilson Nepal, WFP 2015. NB: Total sample of 375 children 6-23 months. * 168. It is important to note that outcome monitoring is currently conducted on an annual basis, so these latter results only provide a snapshot during August and September, which is a relatively better-off season in terms of food security and coincides with harvesting when many households are preoccupied with farm labour. The findings therefore may not be representative of the annual trend and may present differently at other times of the year. 169. Of the beneficiaries interviewed in 2015 for the outcome survey, 87 percent of them (325 beneficiaries) had received nutrition and health counselling and reported having increased level of awareness. Of these, almost all (98 percent) had received counselling in hygiene and sanitation, 72 percent in nutrition, and 62 percent in health topics. 170. Beneficiaries and district authorities in Jumla reported increased uptake of antenatal care (ANC), Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) and health services (data/records were not available to the ET), as well as notably improved nutrition and health of children in recent years. The DHO stated that there is very little malnutrition annually now, however data on malnutrition rates is currently unavailable. The end line survey in 2017 should provide further evidence of this outcome. Capacity development 171. NeKSAP has been successfully handed over to Government and is currently being maintained. The project steering committee, chaired by the Secretary of MoAD, endorsed the institutional arrangements at central, regional, and district levels and NeKSAP was institutionalised into the Government's structure by June 2016. 172. The National Capacity Index for food security monitoring in 2015 was 16, reflecting good progress from the baseline value of 12 in 2012/2013. The district food security

network (DFSN) represents the NeKSAP forum where agencies working in the area of food security, nutrition, agriculture, health, and trade among others, come together to share information and analyse the food security situation on a regular basis, using the integrated food security phase classification (IPC) method for classifying the severity of acute food insecurity. WFP has 25 field-based staff that support all District Agriculture Development Offices (DADOs) through frequent visits to coach, mentor and do on-the-job training. This intensive, field-level interaction and support for all DADOs across the country is a critical part of NeKSAP and unique to VAM within WFP Nepal in terms of capacity strengthening. The staff are currently being pulled back as Government capacity and stakeholder commitment reaches the stage in each district to maintain the system effectively. This represents a major success for WFP through a process that has been appropriately tailored to the specific needs of the Government at different levels. 173. Testament to the strengths of the RCIW initiative and capacity development activities of WFP with its Government partners, including training and collaborative working, MoFALD has gradually managed to independently establish its own food assistance programmes in eleven out of the twenty-one RCIW districts. 174. The lack of coherent standards, approaches and modalities for public works programmes however (e.g. RCIW, KEP, Rural Access Programme (RAP)) suggests that there have been missed opportunities for agencies to work closer together. While WFP has been working in close collaboration with the Government there is a question around the extent to which WFP has coordinated and collaborated with others to share and improve good practice. This would seem an important prerequisite to providing strong strategic direction support to the Government. 175. Under Education Support, WFP provided technical inputs and strategic support to develop a National WASH in Schools Guideline to standardise common minimum benchmarks for WASH implementation. WFP supported high-level government officials from the MOE/DOE and Ministry of Finance to participate in: the Global Child Nutrition Forum in Cape Verde, to exchange ideas and best practices on cash- based school feeding from across the world; a study trip to Lao People's Democratic Republic, where they exchanged ideas on strengthening programming M&E; a high-level training mission to Cambodia; and a high-level mission to Bangladesh on nutrition and school feeding activities, which also included MOHP. The delegates who visited Bangladesh agreed to pilot different modalities of school feeding, such as provision of high-energy biscuits and using a mixed modality of cash and food, to determine the modality best-suited for Nepal.37 176. WFP also supported senior government officials working in the Child Health Division of MOHP to participate in an exposure visit to Thailand and Bhutan in support of the campaign for initiating the rice fortification programme in Nepal. WFP works to strengthen the government's capacity to be able to locally produce or procure fortified food through trainings, exposure and information support. 177. In both Nutrition and Education Support, training for schools, health post staff and awareness-raising of beneficiaries on hygiene, food storage and preparation was found to be effective in ensuring those targeted understand key messages. Converting knowledge into practice has been harder to achieve where facilities are lacking.

37 Standard project report, 2014. 30

178. With the support of WFP, IMAM guidelines have been drafted with UNICEF and MOHP and are awaiting official ratification by the Government. Towards the end of 2014, the government institutionalised the system of mandatory counselling services on IYCF and Mother, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN), as supported in WFP’s MCHN programme. The government also integrated key MCHN output indicators into the Health Management Information System (HMIS) in 2015. 179. WFP was commended by partners for providing strong and appropriate technical support to MSNP development and supporting situation analyses and evidence reviews. However, there is current concern from partners that WFP’s nutrition capacity has become inconsistent and that management commitment to high level strategic support to MSNP2 and the nutrition policy framework is not strong enough. 180. Under disaster preparedness in 2014, WFP worked with the Government to establish a humanitarian staging area at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, with construction completed in 2015. This was deemed highly successful in facilitating the earthquake response. WFP also trained 110 government officers and partner staff in emergency logistics and food management in 2014. Following the earthquake, these activities transferred to the Emergency Operation (EMOP). Cross-cutting issues 181. SPR reports note that the proportion of female-headed households in targeted communities with a reduced or stabilised coping strategy index has improved from 10.2 percent at baseline to 18 percent in 2015, and exceeded that for male-headed households, which has remained at 16.7 percent. However, in terms of FCS, male- headed households are still better off (82.5 percent with an acceptable score, compared to 79.6 percent of women), though it would appear that the gender gap is closing. A similar proportion (approximately 4 percent) of male and female-headed households had poor FCS in 2015, though a large discrepancy was seen in 2014, the reasons for which are unclear. Attendance rates for boys and girls in schools assisted with school feeding are on a par in 2015 and roughly equal in preceding years, with girls having very slightly lower attendance. In terms of leadership in project management committees, women are gradually taking roles, though lagging behind in MCHN. The quality of their contribution in those roles remains a concern. 182. Overall, beneficiaries of CP interventions are well-informed about the programme and their entitlements, as well as complaints procedures (SPR data) and have not experienced difficulties accessing the programme. Within Education Support, 79 percent of men knew details of the programme, according to the 2015 SPR. WFP is in the process of strengthening these procedures following learning from modalities introduced in the earthquake response. In particular, protection issues around the seasonal absence of men and resulting burdens and vulnerability of women require further exploration; transparency with RCIW beneficiaries on insurance mechanisms is also lacking. 183. Partnerships with Government counterparts have been strong in project implementation, yet there is scope for WFP to work closer in partnership with other development actors and leverage synergies between programmes to the benefit of CP activities and outcomes. This is evident in terms of developing closer

relationships with other public works programmes, education partners as well as actors who can provide complementary support to nutrition programmes. Synergies within the CP are relatively weak as Nutrition Support and Education Support are not implemented in any of the same VDCs. This is largely due to the different geographic targeting criteria (rates of malnutrition vs education data respectively) and the fact that the Government is running school feeding in districts where MCHN is in place. Where WFP cannot implement all CP components in the district/VDC, there remains scope to work closely to develop and exploit synergies between the CP and the activities of other actors. 184. Partnerships with other UN agencies and donors in Nepal are established, but key informants expressed concerns that WFP is largely focused on its own programmes and priorities and is slow to engage in broader collaboration and coordination and to work with others. For some donors, this seemingly narrow approach by WFP has led to some loss of credibility. 2.3. Factors Affecting the Results Internal factors 185. There does not appear to have been a robust, objective strategy review by WFP despite the downward resource trends and constructive recommendations raised in previous evaluations and reviews, but rather a continuance of previous year strategies. Regular programme reviews should have led to revised targets which would have resulted in higher achievements or higher quality. For example, in RCIW the reduction in days’ allowance with no drop in road length targets has resulted in very thinly spread resources which has compromised the quality of the results. 186. Working hand-in-hand with Government on all components has given WFP strong opportunities for capacity development in programme areas. Close accompaniment in NeKSAP, for example, has proved a successful way of working, leading to effective handover and institutionalisation of the system. A critical factor behind the success of NeKSAP has been a well-staffed VAM Unit (currently the largest in WFP globally), with staff at the CO, staff seconded to ministries in Kathmandu and staff based in the field throughout the country38. Consistency of this support for nearly 15 years (2001-2016) without interruption has meant that WFP could provide dedicated and focused technical support to the Government for NeKSAP at the national, regional and district levels. All stakeholders agree that the long-term funding available for NeKSAP was instrumental in the success of the approach. 187. It was noted by stakeholders that WFP, represented by senior staff, is often absent from important strategy meetings and processes at national level or sends junior or less qualified staff. This affects the quality of input that WFP can provide in terms of joint planning, collaborative working and policy development at national level. 188. Limitations in WFP’s collaboration with others (UN partners, NGO consortia working in the same sectors) has also led to lack of innovation in programming with the organisation not benefitting from opportunities to work with others, link programmes, support a multi-sectoral approach or set standards. This may have impacted additional funding opportunities in some instances.

38 Information provided by the CO and corroborated at district level through interviews with Government representatives. 32

189. The absence of sufficient technical (engineering) capacity in RCIW at the field level has been noted in recent evaluations. This has an impact on design and oversight, most noticeably on roads. The task is largely delegated to the cooperating partners who face a common problem of recruitment and retention of qualified staff to work in such remote areas. Meanwhile, WFP has an engineering unit, developed in response to the earthquake, but has not adequately deployed it in RCIW. 190. The WFP structure and staffing review in 2014 resulted in a significant scaling down of field staff. Although other activities of the CP have also scaled down due to funding cuts, the current low presence of WFP staff in the field is noted to affect field monitoring and support compared to before. 191. There are no districts in which all three components of the CP operate. Improvements in effectiveness as well as monitoring could be realised if all three CP components focused in the same districts and VDCs. This would enable consistent messages on nutrition, hygiene and gender to be reinforced across the community and accelerate behaviour change, ensuring a holistic, lifecycle approach. In areas where the Government is implementing school feeding or other organisations are implementing complementary activities, there is scope to explore linkages further and develop synergies in programming. External factors 192. Lack of funding for the CP has been a critical factor in reducing WFP’s outputs and coverage of beneficiaries. It was noted that the new corporate financial framework has been detrimental for a country programme that has relied significantly on disbursement of corporate multilateral funding and has had limited opportunities in-country for accessing funds. 193. Funding constraints led to short cooperating partner contracts resulting in high staff turnover and frequent need for repeat trainings, with loss of continuity and capacity in MCHN. Short contracts for partners for WASH and school infrastructure were also reported. This affects the efficient delivery of the programme as well as its effectiveness in achieving outcomes. 194. Out-migration of men leaves women with a heavy burden of work, yet decision- making is largely out of their hands. Gender roles are entrenched in many communities where WFP is working and negatively affect programme outcomes. Despite WFP’s efforts, it is questionable how much influence women have on project design and decision-making. 195. All education partners highlighted the issues of school governance, accountability, ownership by DEO, adequacy of Resource Persons (RPs) and teachers as major concerns to effective programme implementation. In remote areas, schools are not functioning well: desks and benches are lacking and alcoholism of teaching staff was raised by partners and parents as an issue. School teachers are frequently transferred, while many temporary teachers are underpaid and quickly resign; most of the female teachers in schools visited were not permanent teachers. OLE reported that despite seven days intensive training of teachers, many left the job soon afterwards: for example, 41 teachers from Baitadi district left as they did not get minimum wages. This represents a formidable challenge to capacity development and programme implementation. 196. Irregularity in school attendance, especially from June to October of each year, results from heavy workload during planting and harvesting time, when children

accompany their parents to work in the fields. Other reasons reported for absence were seasonal migration, festive season, minor illness and not having stationery or uniforms. 197. After grade 6, girls start to drop out as secondary schools are not accessible for them due to the long distance to travel. Early marriage and early pregnancy is very high and was consistently stated as one of the major reasons of drop out of girls from secondary school. Poverty is also a root cause of dropout with the dropout rate increasing throughout the higher level grades. 198. Alongside the school feeding programme, the government has positive affirmative action activities for girls and Dalits, with incentives for their enrolment and regular attendance. Significant inputs of other I/NGOs on child friendly learning and parenting awareness were also observed. These factors contribute to positive findings seen in enrolment, attendance and retention. 199. In MCHN complementary initiatives by the Government to encourage pregnant women and young children to use health facilities include, incentive payments for attending four ANC appointments, payment for delivery at a birthing centre, a child grant up to five years of age and a policy stipulating that at least one female staff must be present during ANC and post-natal care visits. These initiatives no doubt played a role in encouraging women to utilise the MCHN services (2014 SPR). 200. Men’s participation and their positive support to bring women into leadership positions in FMC and SMC can make a great difference for gender equality, but it is currently limited in many locations due to entrenched traditional roles and views that women cannot take up decision-making positions and that their views are less important than men’s. Meanwhile, women are overloaded due to male seasonal migration. When questioned on the weak representation and ineffective roles of women in some HFOMCs, reasons varied mainly between irregular attendance and tradition or cultural barriers discouraging them (Outcome Survey 2015). 201. Extended absences of regular government health staff were identified as challenges in the programme, and the difficult terrain, with some households living far from VDC health facilities, also affects regular attendance for health and nutrition services. In addition, poor infrastructure and lack of storage facilities at health centres were reported for programme sites in outcome reports and by stakeholders. For the latter, WFP is taking measures to provide food commodities on a monthly basis just prior to the distribution days so that food stays in the health facility for a very short time; however, poor infrastructure and lack of medical supplies may also inhibit use of facilities by communities.

202. The outcome survey 2015 noted that the majority of the eligible households in the headquarters of Mugu do not participate in MCHN due to lack of interest. The opportunity costs for some households to collect the rations on a monthly basis may be too high and there are also likely to be households whose children are well- nourished and so they do not see the need to participate. Although stunting rates are high at 40-56 percent across target districts, that still leaves more than 40 percent of children who are not chronically malnourished. Attendance of PLWs was also low, in part due to seasonal migration to lowlands for agricultural labour (WFP SPR 2015) and potentially reflective of women’s heavy workloads and lack of time to attend for health services.

203. The CO is currently collecting a large array of indicators to monitor the CP and it is clear that this is a heavy burden on a programme with a limited M&E budget and in the context of Nepal where the challenging terrain, an external factor, pushes up costs of monitoring. It is questionable how relevant and useful some of these indicators are at illustrating the programme’s outputs and outcomes. A major challenge is the requirement to report on a list of corporate indictors, which might not be the ones that are most useful to show CP achievements and are time- consuming and expensive to collect. The corporate indicators are internal to WFP but outside of the control of the CO. 204. For example, the Minimal Acceptable Diet (MAD) indicator is affected by a variety of factors – some internal but several of which are outside the direct influence of the MCHN component. One of those (Outcome report, 2014) is limited access by the community to a variety of food sources, thereby restricting dietary diversity. A further challenge to interpretation of this data is the “point in time” nature of the monitoring. Since the outcome monitoring is conducted only once a year, it is not able to illustrate the difference in dietary diversity and frequency of feeding in different seasons and through periods of harvest and hunger. The data reported were collected in June/July in 2014 and during August/September in 2015, when communities in the Mid and Far West may be relatively better off in terms of food diversity and availability of carers (men are in the village, as opposed to periods when they have migrated for work). The value of collecting the data just once a year is questionable, while resource implications of collecting it twice a year are significant.

3. Conclusions and Recommendations 3.1. Overall Assessment Relevance

205. The CP has targeted the most food-insecure and hard-to-reach areas of the country and brought much needed support to vulnerable populations. The activities were highly relevant to the population targeted and have been implemented hand-in- hand with Government. 206. The development landscape is changing in Nepal. More actors are now present in food security and nutrition and are well-funded by a variety of donors. WFP has not been viewed as fully adapting to changing contexts and population needs. The Government is pushing for sustainable approaches and activities to promote self- sufficient communities. In this context WFP has not fully demonstrated the rationale and effectiveness of its programmes and how they fit within the changing national policy framework. Coherence

207. The programme and its component activities were designed in a fully coherent manner in terms of Government policy at the start of the CP, and were aligned with the UNDAF and WFP’s strategic framework. 208. However, over the three and a half years since the CP started there have been changes in the policy and strategic framework as well as changes in actors and approaches. WFP has not fully kept pace with these changes to continue to provide

assistance that is attuned to the evolving situation while exhibiting best practice and global expertise. 209. For example, both Zero Hunger and MSNP2 are multi-stakeholder strategic processes in which WFP needs to be a key player; the post-earthquake agenda has repositioned goalposts and priorities of some donors. A new social protection strategy is under development; WFP’s programmes need to evolve and align with these processes and ensure they remain pertinent, coherent and appropriate within these new frameworks. This requires investment at the policy level. 210. The multisectoral approach to food security and nutrition entails different sectors working together. The components of the CP represent a potential set of complementary activities for helping beneficiary households in an impoverished, food insecure area cope and be better placed to withstand shocks. The components thereby have potential to act as a basic resilience platform if operating at scale. However, synergies between components are underexploited due to operations often not being in the same VDCs. There remain opportunities for WFP to explore linkages with others and examine how collaborative partnerships can work to enhance effectiveness of programmes. In some cases limited resources have been spread too thinly and there is scope for refining targeting to ensure the most vulnerable households are reached. Coverage

211. Programme coverage has been a challenge across all components, apart from NeKSAP which is established across the country. Although the Education component was well-funded, challenges have been raised in terms of equity of approach in the VDCs targeted, as WFP was restricted to cover only schools with Grades 1-5. It will remain a challenge in secondary schools that cover Grades 1-12, as they will continue to be omitted. On the positive side, the programme has reached out to girls and marginalised groups and increased their engagement in school in many places. For MCHN, only three districts have been reached. However, the variability in food security within the district and seasonally suggests that options for refining targeting to prioritise limited resources to the most vulnerable children during the most vulnerable periods exist. Efficiency

212. WFP successfully delivers food and cash on time in projects supported. Few gaps in supply were noted, and only at times of extreme adverse weather. 213. In M&E lots of information is collected and some creative approaches have been pursued. WFP can be commended for the good practice of using 3rd party outcome monitors in terms of efficiency in capturing outcomes and the impartiality of the approach that gives enhanced credibility to the results. However, this information is only captured at one point in time on an annual basis at present. As not all data is used in a substantive way, there is scope for improvement in the type of data collected, its timing and analysis as well as feedback to key partners. 214. RCIW and MCHN have experienced significant funding shortfalls and where funding has been forthcoming it has been delivered as short-term inputs of resources, resulting in a highly insecure programming environment. This has meant cooperating partners receive contracts for only a few months at a time, until the next tranche of funding is secured, resulting in challenges for partners to retain

experienced and trained staff and concomitant excessive time spent in recruitment procedures and by both partners and WFP delivering repeat trainings, thereby significantly reducing efficiency and effectiveness of the programme. 215. In the context of funding constraints, geographic targeting has been refined but targeting to household or beneficiary level has been under-explored as a strategy to improve efficiency and effectiveness of RCIW and MCHN. Although a difficult exercise to undertake, particularly in RCIW, there are examples of public works programmes attempting this. Effectiveness 216. WFP is reaching some of the most hard-to-reach populations in Nepal and supporting remote communities. CP effectiveness has been compromised by significant funding shortfalls, achieving just 26.2 percent of planned resources to date. The CP has reached 23 percent of planned beneficiaries in its first year (2013), 42 percent in its second year and 35 percent in its third year, with distributions of 13 percent planned MT in 2013, 30 percent in 2014 and 17 percent in 2015. 217. The CP has achieved progress in the majority of logframe indicators as illustrated in the Fact Sheet (Table 1) and interventions are highly appreciated by Government and beneficiaries. However, the annual point in time nature of the outcome indicators requires careful interpretation. 218. NeKSAP was described by a stakeholder as “the best go-to information on the real- time food security situation”. It is seen as a key public good which all actors benefit from. It is clear that WFP has built government interest and capacity to own and institutionalise the system. 219. At national level, WFP lacks consistency in its commitment and provision of the required level of technical expertise to engage in technical and strategic fora and firmly align to support Government and development community priorities. This has implications for effectiveness of its capacity building objectives. 220. There has been a lack of in depth gender analysis and systematic inclusion of gender considerations in needs assessment, design and planning, which has reduced the potential effectiveness of activities. Sustainability 221. The assessment of sustainability is mixed for the CP, with some positive examples such as NeKSAP and IYCF counselling in MCHN; however ongoing distributions of Supercereal is not sustainable. The reductions in quality of many RCIW assets call into question the longevity of the asset and sustainability of the support, although smaller, household-focused assets that directly support livelihoods (e.g. fishponds) are likely to provide benefits for the longer-term. 222. MCHN and education support exit strategies currently appear problematic as they have not been clearly communicated at district level or to communities. It is clear that Government cannot take these activities to scale alone. Gender 223. The CP activities have gradually helped to raise women’s status in communities, with small steps towards women’s engagement in decision-making committees and participation in public meetings. Provision of equal wages for men and women, as

well as receipt of cash by women has contributed to this, as well as MCHN’s role in generating interest in women’s reproductive health and well-being. 224. Women’s participation in CP activities is highly demanding in the seasonal absence of men due to out-migration. A lack of a thorough gender analysis has led to missed opportunities to increase gender-sensitivity of the activities and thereby improve effectiveness. Scant recognition has been paid to the health of PLWs and vulnerable groups and the need to provide them with alternatives to heavy physical work in RCIW, protect them from carrying Supercereal from FDPs to schools, and create space for mothers to implement optimal IYCF practices, supported by fathers or other household or community members. 225. The roles and responsibilities of SMC, FMC and HFOMC have not been fulfilled to the extent anticipated in the project document. This is linked to male seasonal migration for 6 months of the year, the lack of women in leadership roles in a significant level and the entrenched gender roles in communities that prevents women making strategic and operational decisions. Men and community leaders (mostly male) are inadequately targeted for MCHN IYCF awareness-raising and also require education and support to adapt gender roles to reduce the burden of labour on women and facilitate women’s ability to take-up leadership roles. 226. WFP CO and field staff continues to be dominated by men (69 percent male in 2015) despite firm efforts by management to address the imbalance. However, the CP has worked to promote and monitor the equal engagement of men and women across all activities. 3.2 Recommendations Strategic recommendations (in order of priority):

R1. CO leadership should map and clarify its comparative advantages within the development community in Nepal and position these as core elements in a new long- term strategy planning starting in 2017. This should clearly articulate WFP’s evolving role, away from traditional food assistance approaches with a strong focus on commodity inputs, to its strengths in knowledge transfer and capacity development. This should be clearly communicated to donors, Government and the development community. The Evaluation Team suggests that core components of this strategy should include: a. An approach that emphasizes the distinctive competences of WFP e.g. scenario and risk analysis, logistics, organisational ability to work in most remote areas and capacity to develop appropriate cash and commodity solutions to address food insecurity. The approach should evolve WFP’s achievements and recognition in emergency preparedness into a coordinated resilience effort with a national level focus and a capacity to surge as necessary;39 and reframe FFA assistance into social protection terms aligned with the changing Government policy and practice; this includes provision of safety nets, food and income smoothing at lean periods based on the hard-to- reach, food insecure areas.40 The approach should strengthen coherence across WFP’s portfolio of operations and focus around competences that span all operations, exploiting synergies between these wherever possible.

39 There are corporate tools, including the 2015 Resilience Policy, to assist and guide this. 40 WFP has a policy note on social protection which can support this alignment of the intervention and is compatible with the Government approach in Nepal. See: http://www.wfp.org/social-protection. 38

b. A comprehensive gender analysis should be conducted at the design phase of the new strategic plan, building on knowledge gained through the CP activities, to ensure a gender focus is at the heart of the approach. As gender issues were found to be a major factor reducing the potential impact of all interventions in the CP, it is imperative that the new approach seeks to challenge gender inequalities, exhibits clarity on how men and women will be engaged in activities and the likely outcomes (benefits and challenges) for men, women, girls and boys. c. WFP should continue to explore creative solutions for the promotion of women in decision-making roles within the CO and field level. d. The strategy should be realistic, achievable and seek buy-in through early consultation with donors and Government during its development. Assured financial commitments would enable long-term agreements with partners, thereby improving the quality of the work.

R2. During the CSP development process of 2017 and in any future CP, CO Management and programme units, with support of RB and HQ need to strengthen engagement in coordination and collaboration mechanisms with the aim of leveraging synergies with other organisations and increasing collaboration on common policy and joint initiatives. This could form the basis for advocacy and resourcing at national and international levels: a. CO leadership should ensure that high level technical and strategic staff capacity and time is prioritised to collaborate and coordinate with other stakeholders in national strategic processes in a consistent way in key areas in which WFP wishes to play a major role (e.g. nutrition, public works/social protection, education support). This includes ensuring relevant staff attend important meetings and provide valued inputs (e.g. in MSNP2 strategic direction and working groups, social protection strategic processes and UNCT core groups, such as UNDAF steering groups); this should also include enhancing WFP’s technical advisory and capacity development role through retention of technical expertise and strategists within the organisation and enhancing their profile externally. b. Education staff should work more collaboratively with different agencies, for example, with UNICEF, USAID, Plan International, Save the Children, World Vision and DOE to ensure minimum standards are met in schools such as number of teachers, training on teaching learning methods and physical facilities. WFP provided significant strategic input in the sectoral plan coordinated by MOE, however complementary activities such as school infrastructure, WASH and EGR are relatively new for WFP; strong collaboration and good coordination is needed in these areas for better impact, alongside clear communication to donors on how WFP’s education support fits with the work of other organisations with established expertise in education. c. CO leadership as well as programme management should actively communicate with donors and stakeholders on an ongoing basis to strengthen relationships and to raise awareness of what WFP is doing and how its activities make a difference. Regular attendance, commitment and visible contributions within stakeholder fora is one vehicle for this.

R3. Within the 2017 planning process, the Nutrition Unit should examine the role of MCHN alongside the incoming IMAM programme and in the context of MSNP2 and continue to assess its relevance and opportunities for collaboration with others to maximise sustainable nutrition outcomes. CO should adapt and prioritise WFP’s nutrition support to ensure that joint or collaborative programming occurs wherever possible, which is aligned with the principle of the multi-sectoral approach (e.g. leveraging organisations implementing income- generating activities working in the same areas; working alongside UNICEF on IMAM and IYCF) and that interventions remain effective and pertinent in support of emerging Government strategies and approaches.

Operational recommendations (in order of priority): R4. Within the context of resource shortages and multiple actors carrying out public works in the region, Programme management supported by technical departments, RB and HQ should develop a plan for significantly decreasing coverage in RCIW but aiming for improved standards of works. This would align with the evolving corporate approach. It should start in 2017 and be established for any future CP. It should combine: a. Ensuring that planning and project selection processes for FFA reflect women’s priorities as well as men’s and seek to reduce women’s workload, through discussion of a more appropriate female-friendly set of options. This could include drinking water and sanitation facilities to improve hygiene. It requires actively seeking women’s views and priorities by discussing with women in separate groups to men. b. Work with MoFALD towards an objective assessment of households most in need, drawing on existing VAM data and analysis, experience of other public works programmes in targeting and through a series of community discussions. This is the minimum required to support an approach that targets the most vulnerable households within the VDC and represents a shift away from self-selection. Available data shows that around 50 percent of HHs are below the poverty line in this region and that could be a starting point for guiding reduction of supported HHs within targeted VDCs. The CO should also assess if projected resources could be more efficient and effective if working in fewer districts than currently supported. Where difficult decisions arise from this, the ET would recommend prioritising the more remote locations as those areas are generally more in need of infrastructure, livelihoods and service development, and this is consistent with WFP's acknowledged competence in reaching remote areas that others cannot. c. Use WFP’s engineering unit as a core resource for RCIW along with local authorities and undertake robust feasibility assessments of all rural road initiatives. CO should de-prioritise those that cannot clearly demonstrate coherence with broader local authority transport plans and commitments. Consider the use of light machinery for specific stretches such as hard rock outcrops that are prohibitively expensive to clear with hand tools alone. d. Aim to maximise available resources to benefit households most in need by targeting fewer households with a minimum of 35 waged days per year.

e. Improve coordination between WFP, MOFALD, Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (DOLIDAR) and other public works providers (e.g. Karnali employment programme - KEP and Rural Access Programme - RAP) to maximise coherence on policy and practice around a set of Government-approved standards. R5. Within the 2017 planning process, the M&E Unit, with support from CO management and leadership, Donor relations and Communications and RB, should lead a process to improve data management and reporting quality for donors, Government and the media ensuring that reports focus more clearly on evidence- based outcomes and impacts of programmes. This would further demonstrate WFP’s achievements and areas of strength and expertise. Options include: a. During the project design phase streamline data collection and reporting, focusing on a refined set of the most useful indicators that demonstrate achievements, ensuring that relevant gender indicators are included and analysed, while being mindful of donor and external requirements. For example, data that explain what RCIW cash and food earnings mean at the household level in terms of food and income smoothing at critical periods; demonstrate how school feeding reaches those furthest behind and empower children, especially girls, to expect equality within and beyond the classroom; present data that promote thinking in sustainable ways about how school feeding supports local economies and empower women and girls for the benefit of everyone. b. Outcome monitoring should be increased to sampling in target communities twice a year, instead of once, to capture indicators affected by seasonality (e.g. FCS, CSI and MAD) during both lean season and post-harvest periods, ideally using a panel survey, if these types of indicators continue to be prioritised. Where corporate indicators add little value and are costly to collect, a discussion should be opened with RB and HQ on funding mechanisms for these. c. Ensure that WFP has adequate field monitoring capacity to fulfil its accountability function; improving synergies between WFP activities and across the country portfolio could assist with feasibility of this, as well as exploiting opportunities among UN partners for joint monitoring. d. Data from all monitoring sources should be systematically triangulated in a structured way. There should be a timely two-way flow of information between WFP and cooperating partners to improve quality of reporting and so that both sides can work together to adapt systems and interventions as necessary.

R6. With the current CP, the Nutrition unit supported by management should move to a seasonal Blanket Supplementary Feeding Programme (BSFP) for 6-8 months of the year to cover the lean season, to reduce costs of intervention and promote community self-reliance; depending on the nutritional status of children (to be confirmed in 2017 end line survey) there may be options for targeting to be further refined to reduced numbers of VDCs within the districts or to targeting vulnerable households and children within VDCs in future programming beyond 2017.

R7. During the remainder of this CP, the CO Nutrition unit supported by Programme management should expand the nutrition counselling approach in MCHN from a focus on mothers to community level, targeting fathers, grandparents and community leaders. This could include community, small group and individual meetings beyond the health post to accelerate knowledge transfer and promote behaviour change. R8. During the remainder of this CP and into the next, the Education unit, supported by Programme management should work to improve social mobilisation and increase engagement with parents, local stakeholders and school teachers to support sustainability and ensure preparation for a smooth exit for WFP. Other activities to support the sustainability of the school feeding programme include: a. Ensure that the FMC and SMC training at the beginning of each academic year includes adequate orientation on the role of FMC to mobilise men and women equally for Supercereal transportation from FDPs to schools; it should also sensitise pupils, parents and teachers on the importance of girls’ education up to secondary school and the impact of early marriage and drop-out. b. Support the DEO and FFEP to ensure that at least 50 percent of members of FMC are women (5 women out of 9 members). This will require support in the development of materials for community sensitisation and FMC orientation on roles and responsibilities. FMC should also be sensitised to the value of supporting and empowering women as active leaders in the decision-making processes. Development and delivery of training on leadership skills and decision-making may be necessary in some VDCs. c. On-going and future programmes should work with FMCs on how the community can manage a school meal programme for children once WFP phases out. WFP should also discuss and advocate with DEOs for the assumption of their role over the longer-term. d. Systems and funding mechanisms for maintenance of school infrastructure constructed with WFP resources should be established in coordination with other stakeholders for the longer-term sustainability of facilities. R9. Within the 2017 planning process, CO Programme management supported by relevant technical advisors within RB should explore with MOE the possibilities and options for extending support to targeted secondary schools to promote the transition of girls into secondary education, in consideration of the high drop-out rates and high rates of child marriage. Criteria related to equity, gender, socially excluded groups (deaf children), caste discrimination and most vulnerable catchment areas could be considered to target secondary school support. Creative approaches should be considered, such as the Girls Incentive Programme resource transfer and creation of synergies with other actors to address comprehensively the multiple issues that prevent girls as well as boys from accessing secondary education.

Annexes Annex 1: Acronyms ANC Antenatal care BMI Body mass index BSFP Blanket supplementary feeding programme CDM Center for development and disaster management CEDAW Convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women CIP Community irrigation programme CO Country office CP Country programme CSI Coping strategy index DADO District agricultural development officer DAO District agriculture office DDC District development committee DEO District education office DOE Department of education DOLIDAR Department of local infrastructure development and agricultural roads DRILP Decentralised rural infrastructure and livelihoods DTMP District transport master plan ECD Early childhood development EDP Extended delivery point EGR Early grade reading EGRA Early grade reading assessment EFA Education for all EMIS Education management information system EMOP Emergency operation ET Evaluation team FCHVs Female community health volunteers FCS Food consumption score FDP Final delivery point FFEP Food for education project FGD Focus group discussion FMC Food management committee GDP Gross domestic product GESI Gender equality and social inclusion GHI Global hunger index GMP Growth monitoring and promotion HDI Human development index HFOMC Health facility operations management committee HHESS Himalayan health and environmental services Solukhumbu HMIS Health management information system HR Human resources IDS Integrated development society IICS Institutionalized improved cooking stove IMAM Integrated management of acute malnutrition IGAs Income-generating activities INGO International non-governmental organization IYCF Infant and young child feeding 43

KEP Karnali employment programme KEPTA Karnali employment programme technical assistance Kg Kilogram Km Kilometer KOICA Korea International Cooperation Agency LGCPD Local governance and community development programme MAD Minimal acceptable diet MAM Moderate acute malnutrition MCHN Maternal child health and nutrition MDG Millennium development goals MDI Manahari development institute MICS Multi indicator cluster survey MoAD Ministry of agriculture development MoE Ministry of education MoFALD Ministry of federal affairs and local development MOHPP Ministry of health and population MoU Memorandum of understanding MSNP Multi-sector nutrition plan NeKSAP Nepal food security monitoring system NER Net enrolment rate NFC Nepal food corporation NGO Non-governmental organization NIB Nepal investment bank NPR Nepalese rupee NRRC Nepal risk reduction consortium OECD/DAC Organisation of economic cooperation and development/development assistance committee OEV Office of Evaluation (WFP, Rome) OLE Open Learning Exchange Nepal PLW Pregnant and lactating women PRRO Protracted relief and recovery operation PWP Public works programmes RAP Rural access programme RB Regional bureau RCIW Rural community infrastructure works RP Resource person RRN Rural Reconstruction Nepal RUC Road users committee SABER System approach for better education result SDG Sustainable development goals SFP Supplementary feeding programme SIDeF Sustainable infrastructure development foundation SMC School management committee SPR Standard programme report SSDP School sector development plan SUN Scaling up nutrition SZHC Saemaul Zero Hunger Communities TOR Terms of reference TOT Training of trainers UC User committee UNFPA United nations population agency

UNICEF United nations children’s fund US United States USAID United states agency for international development USDA United states department of agriculture VAM Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping VDC Village development council WASH Water, sanitation, hygiene promotion WFP World food programme WHO World health organisation WUA Water user association

Annex 2: Stakeholders Consulted Name Designation Organisation

WFP Nepal Pippa Bradford Country Director

Francesca Caponera Deputy Country Director

Iain McDonald Head of Programme WFP Kathmandu Kurt Burja Head of VAM Kanta Khanal M&E Officer Mamata Gurung Head of Education Richard Mwanditani Nutrition Advisor Amrit Gurung Programme Officer Prem Singh Country Programme Coordinator Minu hada Program Officer (Gender Focal person) Franck Aynès Head of Supply Chain and Common Services Manoush Logistics Helen Soames Donor Relations Officer Seethshma Thapa Communications Officer Achyut Thapa Head of Sub Office-Jumla

Uttam Shrestha Program Focal Person, Sub Office-Jumla

Uttarn Shrestha Programme Assistant, Jumla

Chija Bhandari Program Focal Person, Sub Office Nepalgunj

Binod Dev Bhatta Program Focal Person, Sub Office Doti

Rajendra Rasaili Programme Assistant, Nepalgunj, former NeKSAP WFP District focal point

Clare Mbizule Regional M&E Advisor WFP RB Government representatives Dilliram Rimal Joint secretary Bishnu Bahadur Dware Program Director / FFE Joint secretary Ministry of Education Ananda Poudel Under secretary Durga Datt Bista DEO Dadeldhura Bishnu Prasad Gotame DEO Dailekh Mr Balkrishna Ghimire Joint Secretary National Planning Commission (NPC) Mr Mahesh Kharel Project Director, Agriculture, Livestock & NPC Cooperatives

Savita Malla Communications Officer, NPC Min Raj Gyawali Nutrition Officer NPC Gira Rajsubedi Head of National Nutrition Programme DOHS/CHD Dinesh Bhattrai Under Secretary MoAD Yugendra Kumarkarkhi Joint Secretary Planning MoAD Suruj Bokhar International Coordinator MoAD Maddhu Sudan Burlakoti Joint Secretary MoFALD Amrit Lamsal Under Secretary MoFALD Yogida Jossi RCIW Programme Lead MoFALD Krishna Prasad FFE In-charge MOE DOE FFEP Regmi Dailekh Bidya Sagar Mahato FFE In-charge MOE DOE FFEP, Achham

Hari Pyakurel LDO, Dailekh DDC Hikmat Bahadur Mahat Acting Local Development Officer/ District District Development Technical Officer Committee (DDC) Jumla Jeewan Kathayat DDC engineer (RCIW), Jumla DDC Jumla Dharma Bhandari Assistant sub engineer, Jumla DDC Jumla

UN representatives Stine Heiselberg Head of UNRCO UNRCO Mio Yokota Programme Specialist UN Women Binod Saho Country Director FAO Shrawan Adhikary Programme Manager FAO Bashu Aryal, Regional Representative, (India, Nepal, Bhutan) IFAD

Stanley Chitekwe Chief, Nutrition Section UNICEF Anirudra Sharma Nutrition Specialist UNICEF Purusottam Acharya Education Specialist (Policy) UNICEF Shakya Education UNICEF Indra Panta Program Policy Officer, Jumla UNICEF Cooperating partners Helen B. Sherpa Country Director World Education Bhanu Parajuli Thematic Leader (Education and Child Rights) / RRN Programme Manager Dev Darshan Parajuli Programme Coordinator World Education, Pramod Kumar Bista Programme Officer Dailekh

Mr. Sher Bahadur Karki Response Coordinator Nepal Red Cross Society Mr. Rishikesh Dhakal Program Manager FORWARD Nepal Mr. Netra P. Sen Executive Director

Mr. Khop Narayan Executive Director Shrestha MDI-Nepal Ms. Puspa shahi Supervisor, MCHN Mr. Nawaraj Rawal Supervisor, MCHN Sadhna Sharma Monitoring Oficer Ngima Tendup Sherpa Chairperson – Executive Committee Himalayan Health & Environmental Services Solukhumbu (HHESS) Mr. Bijendra Suwal Deputy General Manager Nepal Investment Bank Pvt. Ltd Mr. Basu Upadhyaya Manager Mr. Ishwor Man Shrestha Head of Division, Program Good Neighbours International Ms. Rupa Mishra Head of Division, Program Development Ms. Minjung Kim Managing Director, Expert Mr. Navindra Khatiwada Central Project Coordinators SAPPROS Nepal Mr. Bijay Karki Programme Officer Ramesh Khanal Program Officer IDS Dailekh Ragnubir Thapa Field Monitor MDI Jumla

Donors

Nicola Murray Disaster Resilience Manager DFID Alessandra McCormack Programme Analyst USDA Andreas Röttger First Counsellor, Head of Cooperation EU Robert Hynderick de Attaché, Rural Development and Food Security EU Theulegoet Rebecca Goldman Resilience Team Leader USAID Third Party Monitoring Deepika Shrestha Monitor and evaluation team leader S.W. Nepal Pvt. Ltd. Shuva Sharma Director (Scott Wilson Nepal) Anil Rijal Monitoring officer – RCIW/infrastructure Sarad Gaihre Monitor officer – non infrastructure

Annex 3: Evaluation Matrix Key Question 1: How appropriate is the operation?

No Sub-questions Measure/Indicator Main Sources of Data Data Analysis Evidence Information Collection Methods quality Methods 1.1 Relevance to The extent to which Project document Secondary Analysis of Significant addressing needs: assessments, analysis and data review literature from a secondary data consultation guided the CP variety of sources exists. Thus far data Were the objectives design appears to be of Assessment reports / appropriate to the high quality. needs of the food situation analyses pre- KI interviews insecure population at dating the CP and with WFP the project design The inclusion of current (disaggregated staff in Nepal Qualitative stage and have they differentiated data on by gender, population (CO, Sub- analysis, remained so over time which decisions were based, group) Office, field) triangulating data (including the distinct highlighting different needs from a range of KI needs of women, men, of women, men, girls, boys interviews and boys and girls from and marginalised groups Beneficiary, KI interviews FGDs different marginalised Government and with groups)? development partner government views stakeholders,

development Analysis partners, UN disaggregated by agencies, CP

NGO and IP objectives/sector staff

FGDs with beneficiaries

Use of data collection tools (annex 2)

1.2 Supported by a Activities and transfer Project document Literature and Analysis of Significant firm evidence-base modalities follow globally data review literature from a secondary data and consultation: endorsed best practice / variety of sources exists. Thus far data Were the choices align with WFP strategic appears to be of WFP corporate made in terms of and policy guidance high quality. policies/strategies KI interviews activities and transfer (including gender) with WFP modalities evidence- staff in Nepal based and decided Evidence of due process (CO, Sub- Qualitative through consultative followed in targeting Office, field) analysis, (internally/externally) Normative/globally decisions, including triangulating data means? Were they, endorsed technical consultation with internal from a range of KI and do they continue guidance/ and external stakeholders interviews and to be, appropriate to recommendations by KI interviews FGDs the needs of the food sector, for e.g. with insecure population nutrition, cash government (including the distinct Level of satisfaction among transfer stakeholders, needs of women, men, beneficiaries on relevance development Analysis boys and girls from of activities and transfer partners, UN disaggregated by different marginalised modalities agencies, CP Assessment reports / groups)? NGO and IP objectives/sector, situation analyses pre- staff incorporating dating the CP and cross-cutting current (disaggregated issues such as by gender, population gender group) FGDs with beneficiaries

Beneficiary, Government and development partner Use of data views collection tools (annex 2)

1.3 Coherence with Extent to which CP National overarching Literature Analysis of Medium/High: a Nepal policy activities align with key and sector and data literature from a variety of sources environment and national policy/strategy policies/strategies, review variety of sources available and a interventions/strat documents; strategic food e.g. , e.g. Zero Hunger variety of methods egies of other and nutrition objectives of Challenge National will be used; partners: the Government, key Action Plan 2016- KI interviews donors and development 2025, Multi-sector Are the objectives, with WFP partners Nutrition Plan 2013- Qualitative activities and transfer staff in Nepal Questions of 2017 (2023) analysis, modalities coherent (CO, Sub- complementarity triangulating data with relevant stated Office, field) may vary depending from a range of KI national policies and Level of satisfaction of on different interviews and do they seek Government Strategic partners/developme representatives and documentation / FGDs nt actors and complementarity with KI interviews development partners with approaches produced differing interventions of with WFP’s support to Zero by approaches; relevant humanitarian government Hunger and capacity humanitarian/develop capacity and development stakeholders, Analysis development ment partners / civil development can partners in Nepal? development disaggregated by society consortia; take a variety of partners, UN CP documentation of food forms agencies, objectives/sector, and nutrition incorporating Is the CO employing Evidence of use of NGO and IP consultations/meeting cross-cutting the most appropriate appropriate models for staff s issues such as tools and activities to capacity development, gender support the drawing on WFP corporate policy/experience and government to FGDs with global or national best Information from

achieve the objectives practice Government beneficiaries of Zero Hunger, using representatives and and building on development partners WFP’s comparative interviewed Use of data advantage? collection tools (annex WFP capacity 2) development policy/documented approaches

Global/national documentation (where it exists) on capacity development approaches

1.4 Internal coherence The extent to which the CP Project documents Literature Qualitative High: within WFP and complements, shares PRRO, Special review analysis: documentation is UNCT: experiences or is supported Operations, trust triangulation and available for quality by other WFP activities in funds synthesis of desk review of Were the objectives, Nepal, including SOs, trust interview and FGD intention; however KI interviews activities and transfer fund activities, PRROs data views on coherence with WFP modalities coherent in WFP CO strategies staff, with other CO operationalisation interventions in the Government may differ country at design representative Literature review s of each and analysis stage and do they Discussions with WFP The extent to which the CP relevant continue to be so? staff (RB, CO, Sub- aligns with WFP Nepal and sector, UN Office, field) WFP global strategies, partners, key policies and guidance,

Were the CP activities including WFP Strategic donors designed to be Plan / Results Framework coherent with relevant (2014-2017), WFP policies WFP and UN-wide on nutrition, gender, food WFP Corporate KIs with IPs, system strategies, for education, cash, Strategies/Policies, NGO partners policies and capacity development including WFP normative guidance, Strategic Plan / including gender, and Results Framework have they remained so FGDs with Extent of alignment with (2014-2017), WFP over time? beneficiaries other UN organisations, policies on nutrition, particularly FAO, UNICEF, gender, cash, food for UNDP, including UNDAF education, capacity To what extent are the 2013-2017 development Use of data balance of resources collection allocated tools (annex appropriately against 2) How/whether gender UNDAF 2013-2017; the annual plan? empowerment and equality other UN agency key of women (GEEW) strategies/policies objectives and mainstreaming principles were included in design WFP staffing and team data

Analysis of resources to outputs achieved and evidence of outcomes

Key Question 2: What are the results of the operation?

No Sub-questions Measure/Indicator Main Sources of Data Data Analysis Evidence Information Collection Methods quality Methods

2.1 Planned vs actual Project document Review of Synthesis of Medium/High: outputs, disaggregated logframe detailing project available project dependent on Achievement of by numbers of women, expected outputs monitoring monitoring reports consistency and outputs: what has been men, girls, boys reports and data by CP availability of the level of attainment of receiving assistance by component reliable CO and IP the planned outputs CP component monitoring data (including the number of CP SPRs, monitoring beneficiaries served data and reports KI interviews disaggregated by women, with Triangulation of

men, girls, boys)? Number of planned sites cooperating interview/discussi reached; number and partners, on findings with Cooperating partner type of assets projects development available data reports and interviews supported partners and

donors as applicable Disaggregation of Beneficiary Planned vs actual data by women, discussions commodities delivered men, girls and FGDs with boys where data is beneficiaries available

Timeliness of service delivery Use of data Predictability / collection reliability of planned tools (annex services/distributions 2)

Quality of assistance received

2.2 Achievement of Gender-differentiated CP logframe and Direct Collation, Medium: Third Outcomes: to what outcome indicators as revised logframe observation contrasting and party monitoring extent were the operation identified in the project (aligned to new SRF comparing data data is available, but objectives and logframe, including: 2014-2017) from visits to a some indicators anticipated results met school enrolment and variety of field outlined in the Review of

(also including cross- attendance rates; data/reports locations original project cutting results in areas of number and type of document gender, protection and assets created; CP monitoring (including partnership)? household food documentation/data, malnutrition rates KIs with WFP Synthesis of data consumption score; including SPRs and supplementary staff, partners from desk review gender score; feeding and achievement of performance data) Were any unintended Government supplementary feeding are not recorded effects seen (considering CO and partner representative programmes In depth analysis there or in SPRs differences for different research, reports or s, including performance rates of each CP groups, including assessments local Component using women, men, girls and government available boys)? As this is a mid- monitoring data Beneficiary perceptions term evaluation Beneficiaries, WFP and findings from of the difference the some outcomes may programme staff and FGDs with discussions; assistance has made in not yet show clear partners beneficiaries disaggregation by their communities achievement gender and age as applicable and where data is Use of data available collection tools (annex 2)

2.3 Synergies between Extent to which CP Project planning Desk review Triangulation of Medium/High: programme components are present documents, mapping data for each review of written components, in the same of intervention areas component and at evidence will coordination and communities or support overall support perceptions KI interviews collaboration with the same communities management level; of key informants; others: How do the team will have NeKSAP data and use different activities of the opportunities to

operation dovetail and Extent to which CP FGDs discuss at CO level how are they synergetic components as well as at field with other WFP implemented in tandem CO outcome data, level and discuss operations and with what provide improved reports and synergies and Use of data other actors are doing to results and reinforce assessments collaboration at the collection contribute to WFP’s outcomes of each different levels. tools (annex overriding objectives in 2) Nepal? Minutes of coordination Extent to which WFP is actively coordinating meetings, indication

How did results achieved and collaborating with of WFP’s role in high under the CP contribute other actors pursuing level strategic groups to the earthquake similar goals on nutrition and food response? security, DRR

WFP’s engagement in successful and fruitful MOUs and FLAs partnerships

Discussions with References made to WFP, development other operations in the partners, Government CP documentation (and representatives, vice versa); evidence of NGOs, cooperating instances of resource- partners, UNCT sharing or sharing of

learning and best practices across FGDs with operations beneficiaries

NeKSAP capacity

/effectiveness at time of earthquake

2.4 Efficiency and Acceptance by the Desk review of Desk review Triangulation of Medium: dependent sustainability: What is community of the CP qualitative available data and on quality of data the efficiency of the activities reports/research/ KI information available and operation and the programme gathered predictability of KI interviews likelihood that benefits monitoring future external (and will continue after the internal) risks to the Extent to which the end of the operation? operation community is FGDs contributing to KIs with /participating in NGO/Cooperating activities partners, Government representatives (local Use of data and national) collection tools (annex Improved knowledge 2) and practices exhibited by communities in FGDs with nutrition, education, beneficiaries asset management

New National Capacity of the policies/strategies Government enhanced reflecting Government (e.g. new posts, skills or commitment to policies reflecting WFP’s nutrition and food capacity development security goals)

Key Question 3: Why and how has the operation produced the observed results? 57

N0 Sub-questions Measure/Indicat Main Sources of Data Data Analysis Evidence . or Information Collection Methods quality Methods 3.1 Pipeline integrity and Monitoring reports Desk review Review and High: Through internal delivery of data triangulation of document review What are the factors structure data from different and in depth within WFP’s control sites and discussion with Note of management (internal factors)?: management WFP staff the ET meetings/decisions KI interviews processes, systems, levels; synthesis of should be able to Quality and frequency taken in response to with WFP analysis and tools in findings from KI assess gaps and of monitoring and changes or monitoring staff at all place to support the interviews strengths in the reporting on outputs, data levels and operation design, system implementation, outcomes; use of cooperating

monitoring/evaluation information to adapt partners programme activities and reporting, including Organograms the specific arrangements

the CO has put in place (e.g. third party monitoring to Details of training complement WFP field Quality and quantity packages and curricula monitoring); the of staff; staff capacity provided governance structure and development

institutional

arrangements (including MOUs and FLAs issues relating to staffing, Quality and capacity and technical effectiveness of 2-way backstopping from communication RB/HQ); the partnership WFP staff and between CO and field and coordination cooperating partners arrangements etc.

Gender balance in

staffing

Appropriateness and adequacy of agreements with cooperating partners

3.2 Funding status Funding/resource status Desk review Review and High: data on throughout the CP reports of data triangulation of significant events What are the factors data from various that may have outside WFP’s control sources, supported impacted the (external factors)?: by analysis of KI programme is Effects of risk factors Market briefs and trend KI interviews the external operating interviews expected to be in Nepal, including analysis with WFP environment; the funding available, consistent climate; external conflict, natural staff at all and verifiable incentives and pressures; disasters (e.g. 2015 levels, earthquakes) on cooperating national policy Documentation on logistics, road access, partners, frameworks reallocation of support security donors, UN towards the earthquake agencies and response (where Government applicable) representative Extent to which the s Nepal policy framework and Government, donor and Government are open development partner to collaboration with policies, strategies WFP and committed

to addressing nutrition and food security

The extent to which market trends affected the deliverables.

Adequacy and efficiency of provision of complementary inputs/ services from other stakeholders/partners as appropriate.

Annex 4: Site Visits and Field Schedule

Day 1: Monday, 12 September Kathmandu

Time Activity Remarks Status

09:00-10:00 WFP Security Briefing WFP Head of Security at Confirmed WFP Conference Hall

10:00-12:00 Briefing for Sr. Management (overview of CP Briefing with CD, DCD, Confirmed mid-term & key issues/context for CP) HoP, HoL, Head of VAM, M & E Officer, CP Coordinator at WFP Conference Hall

12:00-13:30

Lunch

13:30-16:30 Presentations by PROG on CP components and Presentation by Confirmed by relevant Units – with Programme, M&E, Programme, M&E, VAM, VAM, Logs/EPR, Admin finance, Pipeline Logs/EPR, Admin finance, Pipeline

Night stay at Hotel Himalaya TBC

Day 2: Tuesday, 13 September Kathmandu

Time Activity Remarks Status

10:30 -11:30 Meeting with MoFALD and RCIW WFP Vehicle will drop and pick up TBC

11:30-12:30 Meeting with MoAD WFP Vehicle will drop and pick up TBC

12:30-13:30 Meeting with MoE and FFEP Venue to be confirmed TBC

13:30-14:15 Lunch at Singha Darbar

14:30-15:30 Meeting with NPC TBC

16:30-17:30 Meeting with DoHS TBC

Night stay at Hotel Himalaya TBC

Day 3: Wednesday, 14 September Kathmandu and Nepalgunj

Time Activity Remarks Type Status

09:00-11:00 Meeting with Cooperating partners for Venue: WFP Conference Component I Asset and Livelihood creation: SAPPROS, Room MDI, GNI, FORWARD, NRCS, NIBL The meeting will be facilitated by Ivan

Meeting with Cooperating Partners for Venue: CD’s Office Component Education Support Program: WE, OLE, II IDS The meeting will be

facilitated by Irada Gautam

Meeting with MCHN Partner HHESS, Venue: Roof Top Component MDI, SAPPROS III Meeting will be facilitated by Tamsin

11:30-12:30 Meeting with KOICA Venue: KOICA Nepal Office

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-14:30 Meeting with DFID Venue: DFID Nepal Office

14:30- Drive to Kathmandu Airport for Nepalgunj 15:00

16:00- Fly to Nepalgunj By Air 17:00

Hotel Check In Hotel Sneha

Day 4: Thursday 15 September Nepalgunj Jumla (Mid-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type Status

09:30- Fly to Jumla By Air (Focal Point-Amol TBC 10:00 Gahatraj)

10:00 – Meeting with WFP Jumla office staff Jumla Sub Office 10:30

10:30 – Meeting with UNICEF Jumla office 11:00

11:15- Meeting with RCIW DPSU and MDI Nepal Component 11:50 I

12:00- Lunch 13:00

13:15- Meeting with different district stakeholder Component 17:30 (LDO, Planning officer, DTO, DHO, I, II and III Nutrition Focal Person, Education Officer)

Hotel Check In TBC

Day 5: Friday, 16 September Jumla (Mid-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type

08:00- Breakfast Local Hotel TBC 09:00

09:00- Travel to Raralihi 1 hour drive 10:00

10:00-13:00 Walking to Jumlakot/Malikathaataa VDC 3 hours walk

13:00-14:00 Lunch Pack Lunch from Hotel

14:00-15:30 Interaction with Health Post In charge and Component III other staff (MCHN)

15:30-17:00 Interaction with nearby MCHN Component III beneficiaries and facilitator

Overnight stay at local house Sleeping bag is TBC required

Day 6: Saturday, 17 September Jumla (Mid-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type Status

07:00 - Breakfast Local Hotel TBC 08:00

08:30- Interaction with Project Management Component I 10:00 Committee(RCIW)

10:00- Interaction with beneficiaries and focus 11:30 group discussion

11:30- Lunch 12:30

13:00- Walking to road head 3 hours walk 16:00

16:00- Travel to Hotel Jumla HQ Local Hotel 1 hour drive 17:00

Overnight stay TBC

Day 7: Sunday, 18 September Jumla and Kalikot (Mid-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks

7:00 – Breakfast 08:00

08:00- Travel from Jumla to Kalikot and night stay at WFP Vehicle 14:00 Hotel white house

Hotel check-in TBC

Day 8: Monday, 19 September, Dailekh and Achham (Mid-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type

7:00 – Breakfast Hotel white house 7:30

7:30- Travel to Rakam Karnali VDC of Dailekh 2 hours drive 9:30

9:30- RCIW Project site Visit (Dunikagada micro 10 min walk Component 11:30 irrigation canal ward no: 5, Rakam Karnali I Fish pond ward no: 1-9, Kholibazaar River Agenda: Observe projects and bank ward no: 4) interaction with beneficiaries and users committees

11:30- Lunch in local hotel Rakam Bazaar 12:30

12:30- SMP School Visit Deependra Primary School 5 min walk to school Component 14:00 II Agenda: Observe SMP, EGR and Wash activities

14:00- Travel to Kalekanda VDC, Achham 30 min drive and 15 min walk 14:45 from Rakam, Dailekh

14:45- Observe SMP in ECD – New Karnali bal bikash Khidkijyula, Kalekanda, Achham 15:45 Kendra and Interaction

15:45- Observe RCIW RR – Dandagaun to Khulalu 30 min walk 18:00 RR, Interaction with UC and beneficiaries,

18:00- Travel back to Khidkijyula, Dailekh 30 min walk 18:30

Night stay in local hotel at Khidkijyula

Note: 19th September is national government holiday. Hence schools will be closed in this day. However, other livelihood related project can be observed

Day 9: Tuesday, 20 September Achham (Far-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type

07:00- Travel to Binayak VDC 2.5 hours’ drive depend on road 09:30 condition.

09:30- Lunch at local hotel Hotel Janaki 10:00

10:00- Travel to Banne, Toli VDC (RCIW road on the 1 hr. drive and 2 hr walk, 13:00 way) depend on road condition.

13:00- Observe SFP (Malika LSS) school and Component 14:00 interaction II

14:00- Observe RCIW irrigation canal and Component I

15:00 interactions

15:00- Travel back to Binayak VDC 18:00

Night stat at local hotel Hotel Janaki

Day 10: Wednesday 21 September Achham (Far-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type

07:00:10 Travel to Bagir, Pulletala, Achham 1 hr. drive and 2 hr walk, :00 depend on road condition.

10:00- Observe RCIW RR and interactions Component 11:30 I

11:30- Lunch at local people home 12:30

12:30- Travel to SMP School- Nawodaya 1 hr. 15 min walk 13:45 P.S.Pulletola

13:45- Observe SMP and interaction Component 15:15 II

15:15- Travel back to Binayak, Achham 45 min. walk and 2 hr. drive 18:00

Night stat at local hotel Hotel Janaki

Day 11, Thursday, 22 September Achham and Bajura (Far-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type

07:00:09: Travel to Mangalsain WFP car 00

09:00- Spend time in district DHQ (Interaction) 10:00

10:00- Drive to Sanfe 11:30

11:30- Lunch At Local Hotel 12:00

12:00- Drive through Sera, Bajura 13:00

13:00- Walk to SFP school (BP P school) at 13:45 Kailashmandau VDC

13:45- Observe School and interaction with Component

15:30 beneficiaries, FMC and Teachers II

15:30- Travel to Martadi (DHQ) 30 mins walk then 3 hours drive 19:00

Hotel Check In DR MOST hotel

Day 12, Friday, 23 September Bajura (Far-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks Type

06:00: Walk to Pandusain VDC 6 hour walk (but if road 12:00 condition improve then walk distance will be shorten.)

12:00- Lunch at local hotel 13:00

13:00- Observe SFP (Kailash PS) school and Component 16:00 interaction Pandusain-5 II

16:00- Observe RCIW micro project (apple farming Component I 18:30 and rural road)

Stay in Local hotel at Pandusain Hotel Sapana

Day 13: Saturday, 24 September Bajura (Far-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks

06:30:1 Return back to Martadi 2:30

12:30- Lunch 13:30

13:30- Meeting with different stakeholders 18:00

Hotel Check In DR MOST hotel TBC

Day 14: Sunday, 25th September Doti (Far-West Region)

Time Activity Remarks

07:30:18:00 Drive back to Budar, Doti WFP Vehicle

Hotel Check In At Hotel Pipal Chautari

Day 15: Monday, 26th September Doti and Kathmandu

Time Activity Remarks

09:30-11:30 Drive to Dhangadhi airport WFP vehicle

13:00-14:15 Check in Airport and fly back to Kathmandu By Air

Hotel Check In at Hotel Himalaya

Day 16: Tuesday, 27th September Kathmandu

Time Activity Remarks

9:30-10:30 Meeting with UN WOMEN at UNWOMEN Meeting to be facilitated by Irada office

Meeting with IFAD Meeting facilitated by Ivan

Meeting with UNRC Meeting facilitated by Tamsin

11:00-12:00 Meeting with UNICEF(Nutrition) at UNICEF Meeting facilitated by Tamsin Office

Meeting with UNICEF(Education) at UNICEF Meeting facilitated by Irada Office

Meeting with FAO Meeting facilitated by Ivan

12:30-13:30 Lunch

14:30-15:30 Meeting with European Union at EU Office, Meeting facilitated by Mission Members

16:00-17:00 Meeting with USAID Meeting facilitated by Mission Members

Night Stay at Hotel Himalaya

Day 17: Wednesday 28th September Kathmandu

Time Activity Remarks

Preparation for Debriefing

Night Stay at Hotel Himalaya

Time Activity Remarks

9:30-12:30 Mission Debriefing -Internal WFP Office

Lunch

14:30-16:30 Mission Debriefing- External Venue TBC

Night Stay at Hotel Himalaya

Day 18: Thursday 29th September Kathmandu

Table 4: Sites selected for field visits with details of projects and accessibility

District VDC Ward Project Description Walking Distance Number

Jumla Raralihi 1-4 Rargaon to Ghodepani Half an hour walk from Rural Road (RCIW) and road head which is MCHN easily accessible.

Jumla Malikathata 1-3 Puru Jumlakot Rural 2:30 hours walk one Road (RCIW) and MCHN way from road head.

Dailekh Rakam Kailali SMP and RCIW 7 hours drive from Nepalgunj and 5 mins walk to reach the project sites.

Dailekh Singhasen SMP and RCIW 7 hours drive and 3.5 hours climb up to reach the project sites.

Bajura Pandusain SFP / RCIW micro 6-7 walks from Martadi project (apple farming, rural road)

Bajura Kailashmandu BP P School, Mahalaxmi One hour walk from PS, PRRO Road road head at Barjugadi

Achham Binayak RCIW road, SFP 3 hours drive from DHO then 15 mins walk.

Achham Toli RCIW road, SFP, 1 hour walk from irrigation canal, Binayak constructed under PRRO

Annex 5: Terms of Reference (ToR)

For the terms of reference of the operation evaluation Nepal, Country Programme, 200319, please see link below or click on the embedded PDF. http://www.wfp.org/operations/200319-nepal-country-programme- 2013%E2%80%932017

[FINAL VERSION, MARCH 21ST 2016]

TERMS OF REFERENCE OPERATION EVALUATION: NEPAL – COUNTRY PROGRAMME 200319

1. Introduction 1. These Terms of Reference (TOR) are for the evaluation of Nepal Country Programme (CP) 200319. This evaluation is commissioned by the WFP Office of Evaluation (OEV) and will last from February 2016 (preparation) to December 2016 (final report), with a field mission planned in September 2016. In line with WFP’s outsourced approach for Operation Evaluations (OpEv), the evaluation will be managed and conducted by an external evaluation company amongst those having a long-term agreement with WFP for operations evaluations. 2. These TORs were prepared by the OEV focal point based on an initial document review and consultation with stakeholders and following a standard template. The purpose of the TOR is twofold: 1) to provide key information to the company selected for the evaluation and to guide the company’s evaluation manager and team throughout the evaluation process; and 2) to provide key information to stakeholders about the proposed evaluation. 3. The TOR will be finalised based on comments received on the draft version and on the agreement reached with the selected company. The evaluation shall be conducted in conformity with the TOR.

2. Reasons for the Evaluation 2.1. Rationale 4. In the context of renewed corporate emphasis on providing evidence and accountability for results, WFP has committed to increase evaluation coverage of operations and mandated OEV to commission a series of Operation Evaluations in 2013 -2016. 5. Operations to be evaluated are selected based on utility and risk criteria.41 From a shortlist of operations meeting these criteria prepared by OEV, the Regional Bureau (RB) has selected, in consultation with Nepal Country Office (CO) CP 200319 for an independent evaluation. In particular, the evaluation has been timed to ensure that findings can feed into future decisions on programme implementation and to the development of a country strategy.

41 The utility criteria looked both at the timeliness of the evaluation given the operation’s cycle and the coverage of recent/planned evaluations. The risk criteria was based on a classification and risk ranking of WFP COs taking into consideration a wide range of risk factors, including operational and external factors as well as COs’ internal control self-assessments.

2.2. Objectives 6. This evaluation serves the dual and mutually reinforcing objectives of accountability and learning:  Accountability – The evaluation will assess and report on the performance and results of the operation. A management response to the evaluation recommendations will be prepared.  Learning – The evaluation will determine the reasons why certain results occurred or not to draw lessons, derive good practices and pointers for learning. It will provide evidence-based findings to inform operational and strategic decision-making. Findings will be actively disseminated and lessons will be incorporated into relevant lesson sharing systems.

2.3. Stakeholders and Users 7. Stakeholders. A number of stakeholders both inside and outside of WFP have interests in the results of the evaluation and many of these will be asked to play a role in the evaluation process. Table one below provides a preliminary stakeholders’ analysis, which will be deepened by the evaluation team in the inception package in order to acknowledge the existence of various groups (women, men, boys and girls) that are affected by the evaluation in different ways and to determine their level of participation. During the field mission, the validation process of evaluation findings should include all groups. 8. Table 1: Preliminary stakeholders’ analysis Stakeholders 9. Interest in the evaluation INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS Country Office (CO) 10. Responsible for the country level planning and operations implementation, the CO is the primary stakeholder of this evaluation. It has a direct stake in the evaluation and an interest in learning from experience to inform decision-making. It is also called upon to account internally as well as to its beneficiaries, partners for the performance and results of its operation. Regional Bureau Responsible for both oversight of COs and technical guidance and support, the RB (RB) Bangkok management has an interest in an independent account of the operational performance as well as in learning from the evaluation findings to apply this learning to other country offices. Office of OEV is responsible for commissioning OpEvs over 2013-2016. As these evaluations follow a Evaluation (OEV) new outsourced approach, OEV has a stake in ensuring that this approach is effective in delivering quality, useful and credible evaluations. WFP Executive 11. The WFP governing body has an interest in being informed about the effectiveness of Board (EB) WFP operations. This evaluation will not be presented to the EB but its findings will feed into an annual synthesis of all OpEvs, which will be presented to the EB at its November session. EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS (See Table 2 for list of external stakeholders) Beneficiaries As the ultimate recipients of food assistance, beneficiaries have a stake in WFP determining whether its assistance is appropriate and effective. As such, the level of participation in the evaluation of women, men, boys and girls from different groups will be determined and their respective perspectives will be sought. 12. Government The Government, in particular the Ministry of Local Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, has a direct interest in knowing whether WFP activities in the country are aligned with its priorities, harmonised with the action of other partners and meet the expected results. Issues related to capacity development, handover and sustainability will be of particular interest. The national food security monitoring system, NeKSAP, is being implemented under a tripartite MoU between the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Agriculture Development and WFP and 70

represents another important partnership for WFP in Nepal. UN Country team The UNCT’s harmonized action should contribute to the realisation of the government developmental objectives. It has therefore an interest in ensuring that WFP operation is effective in contributing to the UN concerted efforts. Various agencies are also direct partners of WFP at policy and activity level. NGOs NGOs are WFP’s partners for the implementation of some activities while at the same time having their own interventions. The results of the evaluation might affect future implementation modalities, strategic orientations and partnerships. Civil society Civil society groups work within the same context in which WFP operates and have an interest in areas related to WFP interventions (food security, nutrition, education, gender equity, etc.). Their experience and knowledge can inform the evaluation and they will be interested in the evaluation findings, especially those related to partnerships. Key civil society groups working on gender equity in Nepal include the Women Awareness Centre Nepal (WACN), the Women’s Foundation (WF), and the Janaki Women Awareness Society (JWAS), among others. Donors WFP operations are voluntarily funded by a number of donors. They have an interest in knowing whether their funds have been spent efficiently and if WFP’s work has been effective and contributed to their own strategies and programmes. USDA McGovern Dole is the main donor for the School Feeding component.

13. Users. The primary users of this evaluation will be:  The CO and its partners in decision-making related notably to programme implementation. The evaluation will also feed into the formulation of the country strategy.  Given RB’s core functions the RB is expected to use the evaluation findings to provide strategic guidance, programme support and oversight.  OEV will use the evaluation findings to feed into an annual synthesis of all OpEvs and will reflect upon the evaluation process to refine its OpEv approach, as required.

3. Subject of the Evaluation 14. Nepal promulgated its new constitution in September 2015, after eight years of deliberations. A result of this has been incidents of civil unrest at the India-Nepal border by parties opposing the constitution, as well as closures at customs points. Ongoing since September, there has been a drastic reduction in cross-border trade, with greatly reduced supplies of fuel and cooking gas coming into the country. With a population of 28.2 million and a GDP per capita of USD 707, Nepal ranks 145 of 187 countries on the 2015 UNDP Human Development Index, one-quarter of the population lives on less than USD 1.25 per day. Agricultural production is not keeping pace with the population growth, and frequent natural disasters adversely affect livelihoods and food security. Approximately 2.2 million people are undernourished. Nepal’s vulnerability to high food prices, especially in remote mountain areas, further exacerbates food insecurity. Challenging and isolated geography, natural disasters, civil unrest and lack of infrastructure complicate efforts to improve livelihoods, establish functioning markets and transport food. Undernutrition is a serious concern: 37 percent of children under the age of five are stunted, 30 percent are underweight and 11 percent are wasted. The prevalence of stunting in mountainous regions is extreme, reaching up to 60 percent. Poor dietary diversity and poor hygiene and sanitation contribute to this situation. Enrolment rates for primary school education stand at 96 percent, with 99 girls for every 100 boys enrolled. Many schools lack adequate numbers of trained teachers and do not meet minimum enabling conditions set by the Government, affecting the quality of education. Retention of students remains a significant concern as 30 percent of children drop out before completing eighth grade.

15. WFP Nepal started a five-year country programme in 2013. It aims to actively support the Government of Nepal in tackling food insecurity, focusing on social safety nets in the areas of nutrition, 71 education and rural livelihoods support. Social protection is the overarching theme of the country programme, and it is in line with WFP Nepal’s country strategy, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2013–2017 and the Government’s development plans. It contributes to Millennium Development Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. The goal of the CP is to enhance the resilience of communities prone to shocks and foster the food and nutrition security of vulnerable people. Its objectives are to:  Reduce undernutrition among pregnant and lactating women and children under 5  Increase children’s access to pre-primary and basic education and enhance its quality;  Support the re-establishment of livelihoods and food and nutrition security in communities affected by shocks; and  Enable the development of sustainable nationally owned food-security systems.

16. The CP has four components: 1) Livelihoods and Assets creation: WFP supports the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development to enable communities by providing employment opportunities geared at creating sustainable protective and productive community-level assets. The participants directly benefit from food and cash transfers, and many more benefit from the assets created. WFP’s livelihoods and assets creation projects are aimed at: 1) enhancing agricultural production; 2) creating rural infrastructure for poor and disenfranchised rural communities; and 3) helping communities to build resilience against weather shocks in adaptation to changing climatic conditions. 2) Education Support: WFP is implementing a School Meals programme together with the Ministry of Education. The objective is twofold. In the short term, the programme aims to keep children in school as well as to enhance their attention through provision of a nutritious school meal. In the long term, the programme aims to break the cycle of hunger by promoting education, in particular of women. To improve access to quality education, WFP has also partnered with Open Learning Exchange Nepal to provide digital learning materials to rural primary schools. 3) Nutrition Support: WFP’s nutrition activities have three objectives: 1. Prevention of undernutrition in children between 6-23 months, and pregnant and lactating women through WFP’s Mother-and-Child- Health and Nutrition Programme; 2. Treatment of moderate acute malnutrition in children between 6- 59 months through a Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition programme; and 3. Capacity building activities including nutrition policy support and efforts to increase local production of special fortified food supplements. 4) Capacity Development: this component focuses on enhancing national food security policies and programmes and strengthen national and local institutions and systems for nationally owned hunger solutions. In particular, the areas covered by this component include: Food security monitoring and analysis system, National school feeding strategy, Disaster risk management, and Nutrition.

17. The project document including the project logframe, related amendments (Budget revisions) and the latest resource situation are available by clicking here.42 The key characteristics of the operation are outlined in table two below:

42 From WFP.org – Countries – Nepal – Operations. 72

Table 2: Key characteristics of the operation

18. OPERATION

19. Approval 20. The operation was approved by the Executive Board in November 2012.

21. There have been one Budget Revision to the initial project document approved in 22. February 2014 increasing the planned number of beneficiaries and associated costs, 23. Amendme as well as an adjustment in planned tonnages. The BR also re-aligned the project nts with WFP’s new Strategic Plan and Strategic Results Framework (2014-2017).

24. Duration 25. Initial: 5 year period (January 26. Revised: N/A 2013– December 2017) 27. Planned 28. Initial: 30. Revised: beneficiaries 29. 487,909 31. 492,909 32. Planned 33. Initial: 36. Revised: food 34. In-kind food: 128,595 mt of food 37. In-kind food: 116,945 mt of food requirements commodities commodities 35. Cash and vouchers: US$ 17,898,587 38. Cash and vouchers: N/A

39. US$ 40. Initial: US$ 215,328,450 41. Revised: US$ 216,275,282 requirements

42. OBJECTIVES,OUTCOMES AND ACTIVITIES as per original logframe 44. WFP 45. Country Programme specific objectives 46. Activities Strategic and outcomes

Objectives 47. SO3: 48. Outcome 1.1: Adequate food 50. Food/Cash for

Restore and consumption for target households over the assets [Component 5 and 7. and 5 - rebuild lives assistance period 1] and 49. Outcome 1.2: Increased access to assets livelihoods in in fragile, transition situations for target post-conflict, communities post-disaster 51. Outcome 3.1B: 53. Treatment of or transition 52. Improved nutrition status of target moderate acute situations groups malnutrition

Development Goals 1 Goals Development [Component 3b] 54. SO4: 55. Outcome 2.1: 57. School meals Reduce 56. Increased access to education in assisted [Component 2]

chronic schools Millennium Millennium

The Country Programme is in line with the United United the with line in is Programme The Country hunger and 58. Outcome 3.1A: Improved nutrition status 59. Prevention of

Nations Development Assistance Framework and and Framework Assistance Development Nations undernutrition of target groups Stunting

43. [Component 3a]

60. SO5: 62. Outcome 4.1 A: Progress towards 66. Capacity Strengthen the nationally owned hunger solutions development capacities of 63. Outcome 4.1 B: Ministry of Education and activities countries to its institutions improve performance in early [Component 4] reduce childhood care and education, formal and non- hunger, formal education, in line with school sector including reform programmes through hand- 64. Outcome 4.1 C: National preparedness over strategies and emergency systems able to prepare for and and local respond to hazard-related disasters purchase 65. Outcome 4.1 D: Adolescent girls, 61. mothers, infants, young children and disadvantaged vulnerable groups have increased access to and utilization of essential micronutrients 67. Cross-cutting results as per revised logical framework43 68. Partnership 69. Food assistance interventions coordinated and partnerships developed and maintained

70. Protection and 71. WFP assistance delivered and utilized in safe, accountable and accountability to affected dignified conditions populations 72. Gender 73. Gender equality and empowerment improved

74. PARTNERS 75. Governme 76. Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Agricultural nt Development , Ministry of Education and Sports , Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Planning Commission 77. United 78. FAO, UNICEF, IFAD Nations 79. NGOs 80. SAPPROS, Manahari Development Institute (MDI), World Education, Open Learning Exchange, Himalayan Health and Environmental Services Solukhumbu (HHESS) 81. RESOURCES (INPUTS) 82. Contri 86. % funded of total 90. Top donors bution requirements United States received as 87. Multilateral of February 88. Korea Rep. of Canada 2016: US$ Private donors 54,688,889 Stock transfer 19% 83. (again Gross st appeal: Need 9% 25.3%) s 51% 84. Short Fund 1% 2% 85. Elapse fall, ed, … 3%[PERCEN d time of the 75% TAGE] operation: 91. 63% 89. 92. PLANNED OUTPUTS (at design)

43 The summary of the revised logframe is presented in Annex 3. The full logframe with targets, indicators and assumptions will be provided to the team during the inception phase 74

93. Planned number of beneficiaries by component 99. Planned % of beneficiaries by component

Yearly maximum 2013-2015 Yearly maximum 2016-2017 2013-15

410335 333000

328267 13%

250000

48%

110000 39% 95000

LIVELIHOODS E D U C A T I O N N U T R I T I O N AND ASSETS SUPPORT SUPPORT Livelihoods and Assets creation CREATION Education Support 94. 100. Nutrition support 95.

96. Planned % of female/male by component 2013- 101. 15 102. Planned cash requirements by component 100% 80% 39 50 50 0% 60% 40% 61 20% 50 50 0% Livelihoods and Education Support Nutrition support Assets creation 100% 97. Female Male Livelihoods and Assets creation 98. Education Support 103. Nutrition support 104. Planned % of food requirements (mt) by component

Nutrition support, 26065, 20%

Livelihoods and Assets creation, 69552, 54% Education Support, 32978, 26%

105. Livelihoods and Assets creation Education Support Nutrition support 4. Evaluation Approach 4.1. Scope 106. Scope. The evaluation will cover CP 200319 including all activities and processes related to its formulation, implementation, resourcing, monitoring, evaluation and reporting relevant to answer the evaluation questions. The period covered by this evaluation captures the time from the development of the operation (November 2011-December 2012) and the period from the beginning of the operation until the start of the evaluation (January 2013-September 2016). 107. The CO is interested in improving the implementation and its effectiveness, specifically in terms of strategic direction and the evaluation should look into possible recommendations on how the CO can best position and profile the CP. The CO is currently developing the country strategy and the results of the evaluation will feed into this. The CO is also interested in analysis on inter agency collaboration, more specifically in terms of what the bottlenecks for inter-agency collaboration are. The 75 evaluation findings will also guide the CO on how to better address the post recovery phase of earthquake emergency and reconstruction requirement. 4.2. Evaluation Questions 108. The evaluation will address the following three questions: Question 1: How appropriate is the operation? Areas for analysis will include the extent to which the objectives, targeting, choice of activities and of transfer modalities:  Were, at project design stage, consultative (internally / externally), evidenced-based, and appropriate to the needs of the food insecure population including the distinct needs of women, men, boys and girls namely from different marginalised groups, and remained so over time.  Are coherent with relevant stated national policies, including sector policies and strategies and seek complementarity with the interventions of relevant humanitarian and development partners, as well as with other CO interventions in the country, including Special Operations and trust funds. Are the tools and activities of the CP the best to support the government to achieve the objectives of zero hunger and build on WFP’s comparative advantage to complement what others are implementing in the area of nutrition, education, capacity-development and resilience/food security, as well as gender and equity? How WFP capacity building support can be strengthened in the future?  Were coherent at project design stage with relevant WFP and UN-wide system strategies, policies and normative guidance (including gender44), and remained so over time. In particular, the team will analyse if and how gender empowerment and equality of women (GEEW) objectives and mainstreaming principles were included in the intervention design in line with the MDGs and other system-wide commitments enshrining gender rights.

Question 2: What are the results of the operation? While ensuring that differences in benefits between women, men, boys and girls from different groups are considered, the evaluation will analyse:  The level of attainment of the planned outputs (including the number of beneficiaries served disaggregated by women, girls, men and boys);  The extent to which the outputs led to the realisation of the operation objectives (also including cross-cutting results in the areas of gender, protection and partnership) as well as to unintended effects highlighting, as applicable, differences for different groups, including women, girls, men and boys;  How different activities of the operation dovetail and are synergetic with other WFP operations, including Special Operations and trust funds, and with what other actors are doing to contribute to the overriding WFP objective in the country; and  The efficiency of the operation and the likelihood that the benefits will continue after the end of the operation.

More specifically, the evaluation will also analyse the extent to which results achieved under the CP contributed to the earthquake response (e.g. Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP) capacity built under the CP). The CO is also interested in learning how CP could achieve higher effectiveness.

Question 3: Why and how has the operation produced the observed results? The evaluation should generate insights into the main internal and external factors that caused the observed changes and affected how results were achieved. The inquiry is likely to focus, amongst others, on:

44 Includes WFP’s policy on Building Resilience for Food Security and Nutrition, School Feeding Policy, Nutrition Policy, Policy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, policy on Capacity Development and Hand-Over, and the Gender Policy. For gender, please see also the Convention to Eliminate all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

 Internally (factors within WFP’s control): the processes, systems, sound analysis and tools in place to support the operation design, implementation, monitoring/evaluation and reporting, including the specific arrangements the CO has put in place (e.g. third-party monitoring to complement WFP field monitoring); the governance structure and institutional arrangements (including issues related to staffing, capacity and technical backstopping from RB/HQ); the partnership and coordination arrangements; etc.  Externally (factors outside WFP’s control): the external operating environment; the funding climate; external incentives and pressures; national policy frameworks etc. 4.3 Evaluability Assessment 109. Evaluability is the extent to which an activity or a programme can be evaluated in a reliable and credible fashion. The below provides a preliminary evaluability assessment, which will be deepened by the evaluation team in the inception package. The team will notably critically assess data availability and take evaluability limitations into consideration in its choice of evaluation methods. In doing so, the team will also critically review the evaluability of the gender aspects of the operation, identify related challenges and mitigation measures and determine whether additional indicators are required to include gender empowerment and gender equality dimensions. 110. In answering question one, the team will be able to rely on assessment reports, minutes from the project review committee, the project document and logframes, evaluations and reviews of ongoing and past operations, as well as documents related to government and interventions from other actors. In addition, the team will review relevant WFP strategies, policies and normative guidance. 111. For question two the operation has been designed in line with the corporate strategic results framework (SRF) and selected outputs, outcomes and targets are recorded in the logframes. Monitoring reports as well as annual standard project reports (SPRs) detail achievement of outputs and outcomes thus making them evaluable against the stated objectives. 112. However, answering question two is likely to pose some challenges owing in part to potential data gaps in relation to efficiency. 113. For question three, the team members will have access to some institutional planning documents and is likely to elicit further information from key informant interviews. 114. Another evaluability challenge is linked to changes in some of the outcome indicators during the course of the implementation of the CP as the operation’s logframe was realigned to the new SRF (2014-2017) in 2014. The revised logframe will be provided to the evaluation team. 115. Available monitoring data include: 1) output monitoring data, by activity; 2) biannual outcome monitoring data for all CP components since 2013, including cross-cutting indicators since 2014; 3) 2012 baseline data. 4.4. Methodology 116. The methodology will be designed by the evaluation team during the inception phase. It should:  Employ relevant internationally agreed evaluation criteria including those of relevance, coherence (internal and external), coverage, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability (or connectedness for emergency operations), giving special consideration to gender and equity issues (including specific needs of marginalised groups).  Use applicable standards (e.g. SPHERE standards; the System Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) assessment framework; UNEG guidance on gender45);

45 These are put into context of WFP evaluation in the OEV technical note on integrating gender in evaluation. Evaluation team will be expected to review this TN during the inception phase and ensure that gender is well mainstreamed in all phases and aspects of the evaluation. 77

 Demonstrate impartiality and lack of biases by relying on a cross-section of information sources (e.g. stakeholder groups, including beneficiaries, etc.) and using mixed methods (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, participatory) to ensure triangulation of information through a variety of means. Participatory methods will be emphasised with the main stakeholders, including the CO. The selection of field visit sites will also need to demonstrate impartiality.  Be geared towards addressing the key evaluation questions taking into account the evaluability challenges, the budget and timing constraints;  Be based on an analysis of the logic model of the operation and on a thorough stakeholders analysis;  Ensure through the use of mixed methods and appropriate sampling that women, girls, men and boys from different stakeholders groups participate and that their different voices are heard and used;  Be synthesised in an evaluation matrix, which should be used as the key organizing tool for the evaluation. 4.5. Quality Assurance 117. OEV’s Evaluation Quality Assurance System (EQAS) defines the quality standards expected from this evaluation and sets out processes with in-built steps for quality assurance, templates for evaluation products and checklists for the review thereof. It is based on the UNEG norms and standards and good practice of the international evaluation community (DAC and ALNAP) and aims to ensure that the evaluation process and products conform to best practice and meet OEV’s quality standards. EQAS does not interfere with the views and independence of the evaluation team. 118. At the start of the evaluation, OEV will orient the evaluation manager on EQAS and share related documents. EQAS should be systematically applied to this evaluation and the evaluation manager will be responsible to ensure that the evaluation progresses in line with its process steps and to conduct a rigorous quality control of the evaluation products ahead of their submission to WFP. OEV will also share an Orientation Guide on WFP and its operations, which provides an overview of the organization.

5. Phases and deliverables 119. The evaluation will proceed through five phases. Annex two provides details of the activities and the related timeline of activities and deliverables. 120. Preparation phase (March-May): The OEV focal point will conduct background research and consultation to frame the evaluation; prepare the TOR; select the evaluation team and contract the company for the management and conduct of the evaluation. 121. Inception phase (June-August): This phase aims to prepare the evaluation team for the evaluation phase by ensuring that it has a good grasp of the expectations for the evaluation and a clear plan for conducting it. The inception phase will include a desk review of secondary data and initial interaction with the main stakeholders.  Deliverable: Inception Package. The Inception Package details how the team intends to conduct the evaluation with an emphasis on methodological and planning aspects. The IP will be shared with CO, RB and OEV for comments before being approved by OEV. It will present an analysis of the context and of the operation, the evaluation methodology articulated around a deepened evaluability and stakeholders’ analysis; an evaluation matrix; and the sampling technique and data collection tools. It will also present the division of tasks amongst team members as well as a detailed schedule for stakeholders’ consultation. For more details, refer to the content guide for the inception package.

122. Evaluation phase (September-October): The fieldwork will span over three weeks and will include visits to project sites and primary and secondary data collection from local stakeholders. Two 78 debriefing sessions will be held upon completion of the field work. The first one will involve the country office (relevant RB and HQ colleagues will be invited to participate through a teleconference) and the second one will be held with external stakeholders (Government, UN agencies, NGOs, Donors and others that WFP may be working with, or who may be interested in the results of this evaluation)46

 Deliverable: Exit debriefing presentation. An exit debriefing presentation of preliminary findings and conclusions (powerpoint presentation) will be prepared to support the debriefings.

123. Reporting phase (October-December): The evaluation team will analyse the data collected during the desk review and the field work, conduct additional consultations with stakeholders, as required, and draft the evaluation report. It will be submitted to the evaluation manager for quality assurance. Stakeholders will be invited to provide comments, which will be recorded in a matrix by the evaluation manager and provided to the evaluation team for their consideration before report finalisation.

 Deliverable: Evaluation report. The evaluation report will present the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation in a concise report of 40 pages maximum. Findings should be evidence-based and relevant to the evaluation questions. Data will be disaggregated by sex and the evaluation findings and conclusions will highlight differences in performance and results of the operation for different beneficiary groups as appropriate. There should be a logical flow from findings to conclusions and from conclusions to recommendations. Recommendations will be limited in number, actionable and targeted to the relevant users. These will form the basis of the WFP management response to the evaluation. For more details, refer to the content guide for the evaluation report and the OpEv sample models for presenting results.

124. Follow-up and dissemination phase: OEV will share the final evaluation report with the CO and RB. The CO management will respond to the evaluation recommendations by providing actions that will be taken to address each recommendation and estimated timelines for taking those actions. The RB will coordinate WFP’s management response to the evaluation, including following up with the CO on status of implementation of the actions. OEV will also subject the evaluation report to an external post- hoc quality review to report independently on the quality, credibility and utility of the evaluation in line with evaluation norms and standards. A feedback online survey on the evaluation will also be completed by all stakeholders. The final evaluation report will be published on the WFP public website, and findings incorporated into an annual synthesis report, which will be presented to WFP’s Executive Board for consideration. This synthesis will identify key features of the evaluated operations and report on the gender sensitivity of the operations among other elements. Findings will be disseminated and lessons will be incorporated into other relevant lesson sharing systems.

Notes on the deliverables: The inception package and evaluation reports shall be written in English and follow the EQAS templates. The evaluation team is expected to produce written work that is of very high standard, evidence- based, and free of errors. The evaluation company is ultimately responsible for the timeliness and quality of the evaluation products. If the expected standards are not met, the evaluation company will, at its own expense, make the necessary amendments to bring the evaluation products to the required quality level. The evaluation TOR, report and management response will be public and posted on the WFP External Website (wfp.org/evaluation). The other evaluation products will be kept internal.

46 Since these have to be informed well in advance of the dates of debriefing, they will be identified during the inception phase after the team has done stakeholder analysis. 79

Table 3: Key dates for field mission and deliverables Entity responsible Phase Activities Key dates (tentative) EM/ET Inception Draft Inception Package 1 August 2016 EM/ET Inception Final Inception Package 25 August 2016 CO/ET Evaluation Evaluation field mission 12 September – 3 October 2016 ET Evaluation Exit Debriefing Presentation 3 October 2016 ET/EM/RB/CO Reporting Call to discuss areas of 28 October 2016 emerging recommendations EM/ET Reporting Draft Evaluation Report 14 November 2016 EM/ET Reporting Final Evaluation Report 12 December 2016 CO/RB Follow-up Management Response 10 January 2017

6. Organization of the Evaluation

6.1 Outsourced approach 125. Under the outsourced approach to OpEvs, the evaluation is commissioned by OEV but will be managed and conducted by an external evaluation company having a long-term agreement (LTA) with WFP for operations evaluation services.

126. The company will provide an evaluation manager (EM) and an independent evaluation team (ET) in line with the LTA. To ensure a rigorous review of evaluation deliverables, the evaluation manager should in no circumstances be part of the evaluation team.

127. The company, the EM and the ET members will not have been involved in the design, implementation or M&E of the operation nor have other conflicts of interest or bias on the subject. They will act impartially and respect the code of conduct of the profession.

128. Given the evaluation learning objective, the evaluation manager and team will promote stakeholders’ participation throughout the evaluation process. Yet, to safeguard the independence of the evaluation, WFP staff will not be part of the evaluation team or participate in meetings with external stakeholders if the evaluation team deems that their presence could bias the responses.

6.2 Evaluation Management 129. The evaluation will be managed by the company’s EM for OpEvs (as per LTA). The EM will be responsible to manage within the given budget the evaluation process in line with EQAS and the expectations spelt out in these TOR and to deliver timely evaluation products meeting the OEV standards. In particular, the EM will:

 Mobilise and hire the evaluation team and provide administrative backstopping (contracts, visas, travel arrangements, consultants’ payments, invoices to WFP, etc).  Act as the main interlocutor between WFP stakeholders and the ET throughout the evaluation and generally facilitate communication and promote stakeholders’ participation throughout the evaluation process.  Support the evaluation team by orienting members on WFP, EQAS and the evaluation requirements; providing them with relevant documentation and generally advising on all aspects of the evaluation to ensure that the evaluation team is able to conduct its work.

 Ensure that the evaluation proceeds in line with EQAS, the norms and standards and code of conduct of the profession and that quality standards and deadlines are met.  Ensure that a rigorous and objective quality check of all evaluation products is conducted ahead of submission to WFP. This quality check will be documented and an assessment of the extent to which quality standards are met will be provided to WFP.  Provide feedback on the evaluation process as part of an evaluation feedback e-survey.

6.3 Evaluation Conduct 130. The ET will conduct the evaluation under the direction of the EM. The team will be hired by the company following agreement with OEV on its composition.

131. Team composition. The evaluation team is expected to include 3 members, including the team leader and evaluators. It should include women and men of mixed cultural backgrounds and at least one national of Nepal. At least one team member should have WFP experience.

132. Team competencies. The team will be multi-disciplinary and include members who together include an appropriate balance of expertise and practical knowledge in the following areas (listed in order of priority):

 Resilience & Livelihoods, with some expertise in community infrastructures;  Nutrition (prevention of stunting and treatment of moderate acute malnutrition);  Capacity Development & Partnership: Institutional capacity development, with good understanding of development programmes and more specifically how to work with and support government priorities, particularly in the area of emergency preparedness;  Gender & Equity expertise/good knowledge of gender and marginalised groups’ issues within the country/regional context - including understanding of UN system-wide and WFP commitments on gender. 133. All team members should have strong analytical and communication skills; evaluation experience and familiarity with the country or region. 134. The team members need to be fluent in English, both orally and in writing. 135. The Team Leader will have good communication, management and leadership skills and demonstrated experience and good track record in leading similar evaluations. He/she should also have excellent English writing and presentation skills, technical expertise in one of the technical areas listed above as well as expertise in designing evaluation methodology, data collection tools. 136. Her/his primary responsibilities will be: i) defining the evaluation approach and methodology; ii) guiding and managing the team; iii) leading the evaluation mission and representing the evaluation team; iv) drafting and revising, as required, the inception package, exit debriefing presentation and evaluation report in line with EQAS; and v) provide feedback to OEV on the evaluation process as part of an evaluation feedback e-survey. 137. The team members will bring together a complementary combination of the technical expertise required and have a track record of written work on similar assignments. 138. Team members will: i) contribute to the methodology in their area of expertise based on a document review; ii) conduct field work; iii) participate in team meetings and meetings with stakeholders; iv) contribute to the drafting and revision of the evaluation products in their technical area(s); and v) provide feedback on the evaluation process as part of an evaluation feedback e-survey.

6.4 Security Considerations 139. As an ‘independent supplier’ of evaluation services to WFP, the evaluation company is responsible for ensuring the security of all persons contracted, including adequate arrangements for evacuation for medical or situational reasons. The consultants contracted by the evaluation company do not fall under the UN Department of Safety & Security (UNDSS) system for UN personnel. 140. However, to avoid any security incidents, the Evaluation Manager is requested to ensure that:  Travelling team members complete the UN system’s applicable Security in the Field courses in advance, print out their certificates and take them with them. (These take a couple of hours to complete.)  The WFP CO registers the team members with the Security Officer on arrival in country and arranges a security briefing for them to gain an understanding of the security situation on the ground.  The team members observe applicable UN security rules and regulations – e.g. curfews etc. For more information, including the link to UNDSS website, see EQAS for operations evaluations page 34.

7. Roles and Responsibilities of WFP Stakeholders 141. The Country Office. The CO management will be responsible to:  Assign a focal point for the evaluation. Kanta Khanal, Programme/M&E Officer will be the main CO focal point for this evaluation, with oversight from Kurt Burja, VAM Officer.  Comment on the TORs, inception package and the evaluation report  Provide the evaluation manager and team with documentation and information necessary to the evaluation; facilitate the team’s contacts with local stakeholders; set up meetings, field visits; provide logistic support during the fieldwork; and arrange for interpretation, if required.  Organise security briefings for the evaluation team and provide any materials as required.  Participate in discussions with the evaluation team on the evaluation design and on the operation, its performance and results and in various teleconferences with the evaluation manager and team on the evaluation products.  Organise and participate in two separate debriefings, one internal and one with external stakeholders.  Prepare a management response to the evaluation recommendations.  Provide feedback to OEV on the evaluation process as part of an evaluation feedback e-survey. 142. The Regional Bureau. The RB management will be responsible to:  Assign a focal point for the evaluation. Clare Mbizule, Regional M&E Advisor, will be the RB focal point for this evaluation.  Participate in discussions with the evaluation team on the evaluation design and on the operation, its performance and results. In particular, the RB should participate in the evaluation debriefing and in various teleconferences with the evaluation manager and team, as required.  Provide comments on the TORs, inception package and the evaluation report.  Coordinate the management response to the evaluation and track the implementation of the recommendations.  Provide feedback to OEV on the evaluation process as part of an evaluation feedback e-survey. 143. Headquarters. Some HQ divisions might, as relevant, be asked to discuss WFP strategies, policies or systems in their area of responsibility and to comment on the evaluation TOR and report. 144. The Office of Evaluation. OEV is responsible for commissioning the evaluation and Filippo Pompili, Evaluation Officer, is the OEV focal point. OEV’s responsibilities include to: 82

 Set up the evaluation including drafting the TOR in consultation with concerned stakeholders; select and contract the external evaluation company; and facilitate the initial communications between the WFP stakeholders and the external evaluation company.  Enable the company to deliver a quality process and report by providing them with the EQAS documents including process guidance, content guides and templates as well as orient the evaluation manager on WFP policies, strategies, processes and systems as required.  Comment on the draft inception package.  Comment on the evaluation report and approve the final version.  Submit the final evaluation report to an external post-hoc quality review process to independently report on the quality, credibility and utility of the evaluation and provide feedback to the evaluation company accordingly.  Publish the final evaluation report on the WFP public website and incorporate findings into an annual synthesis report, which will be presented to WFP’s Executive Board for consideration.  Conduct an evaluation feedback e-survey to gather perceptions about the evaluation process and the quality of the report to be used to revise the approach, as required.

8. Communication and budget 8.1. Communication 145. Issues related to language of the evaluation are noted in sections 6.3 and 5, which also specifies which evaluation products will be made public and how and provides the schedule of debriefing with key stakeholders. Section 5 paragraph 31 describes how findings will be disseminated. 146. To enhance the learning from this evaluation, the evaluation manager and team will also emphasize transparent and open communication with WFP stakeholders. Regular teleconferences and one-on-one telephone conversations between the evaluation manager, team and country office focal point will assist in discussing any arising issues and ensuring a participatory process.

8.2. Budget 147. Funding source: The evaluation will be funded in line with the WFP special funding mechanism for Operations Evaluations (Executive Director memo dated October 2012 and July 2015). The cost to be borne by the CO will be established by the WFP Budget & Programming Division (RMB). 148. Budget: The budget will be prepared by the company (using the rates established in the LTA and the corresponding template) and approved by OEV. For the purpose of this evaluation the company will:  Use the management fee corresponding to a medium operation.  Budget for international and domestic travel via plane. Ground transportation will be provided by WFP country office.

Please send queries to Filippo Pompili, email: [email protected], phone: +39 06 6513-6454.

Annex 1: Map

Annex 2: Evaluation timeline

2016 2017 Entity Responsible Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan

Activity/Deliverables

Eval Eval OEV

11-Jul

11-Apr

15-Feb 28-Jul 25-Jul 12-Sep 19-Sep 10-Oct 17-Oct 16-Jan

01-Feb 18-Apr 13-Jun 04-Jul 26-Sep 24-Oct 12-Dec 19-Dec

08-Feb 22-Feb 01-Mar 14-Mar 21-Mar 25-Apr 01-Aug 15-Aug 05-Sep 03-Oct 01-Nov 14-Nov 21-Nov 26-Dec 02-Jan 09-Jan 23-Jan

28-Mar 04-Apr 16-May 06-Jun 20-Jun 27-Jun 22-Aug 29-Aug 28-Nov 05-Dec

07-Mar 23-May 08-Aug 07-Nov

02-May 09-May 30-May

Manager Eval Team Team Eval

1 Desk review, consultation and preparation of TOR X 2 Stakeholders comments on TORs X X 3 Final TOR X 4 Evaluation company selection and contracting X 5 Operational documents consolidation and sharing X 6 Hand-over of eval management to EM X X 7 Evaluation team briefing - expectations, requirements, quality X X 8 Deskstandards review, Consultation with the CO/RB , drafting of the Inception X 9 QualityPackage Assurance of the Inception Package X 10 Draft Inception Package X X 11 Comments on Inception Package X X X 12 Revise Inception Package and final Quality Assurance of IP X X 13 Final Inception Package X X 14 Eval mission preparation (setting up meetings,field visits, etc) X 15 Introductory briefing X X 16 Field work X 17 Exit debriefing X X X X X 18 Exit debriefing presentation X X 19 Evaluation Report drafting X 20 Quality Assurance of the draft Evaluation Report X 21 Draft Evaluation Report X X 22 Stakeholders comments on Evaluation Report X X X 23 Revision of the report + comments matrix X X 24 Final Evaluation Report X X 25 Preparation of the Management Response X X X 26 Management Response X X X 27 Post-hoc Quality Review and end of evaluation survey X 28 Report Publication + integration in lessons learning X

Annex 3: Summary Logframe aligned to new SRF (2014-2017) Summary Logframe for Country Programme Nepal CP 200319 (2013-2017) Results Indicator Cross-cutting GENDER: Gender equality and empowerment Proportion of households where females make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food improved Proportion of women beneficiaries in leadership positions of project management committees Proportion of households where females and males together make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food Proportion of households where males make decisions over the use of cash, voucher or food Number of men in leadership positions on food, cash or vouchers management committees Proportion of women project management committee members trained on modalities of food, cash, or voucher distribution PROTECTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY Proportion of assisted people (women) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can TO AFFECTED POPULATIONS: WFP complain) assistance delivered and utilized in safe, Proportion of assisted people who do not experience safety problems travelling to, from and/or at WFP programme site accountable and dignified conditions Proportion of assisted people (men) informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) Proportion of assisted people informed about the programme (who is included, what people will receive, where people can complain) PARTNERSHIP: Food assistance Number of partner organizations that provide complementary inputs and services interventions coordinated and partnerships Proportion of project activities implemented with the engagement of complementary partners developed and maintained Amount of complementary funds provided to the project by partners (including NGOs, civil society, private sector organizations, international financial institutions and regional development banks) SO3: Reduce risk and enable people, communities and countries to meet their own food and nutrition needs Outcome SO3.1 FCS: percentage of households with poor Food Consumption Score (female-headed) UNDAF outcome: Client groups are effectively NCI: Food security programmes National Capacity Index engaged in, and benefiting from, economic NCI: Resilience programmes National Capacity Index empowerment and a social protection floor. FCS: percentage of households with poor Food Consumption Score (male-headed) Proportion of targeted communities where there is evidence of improved capacity to manage climatic shocks and risks supported by WFP FCS: percentage of households with borderline Food Consumption Score (female-headed) FCS: percentage of households with borderline Food Consumption Score (male-headed) FCS: percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (female-headed) FCS: percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (male-headed) CSI (Asset Depletion): Percentage of female-headed households with reduced/stabilized Coping Strategy Index CSI (Asset Depletion): Percentage of male-headed households with reduced/stabilized Coping Strategy Index Outcome SO3.2 FCS: percentage of households with poor Food Consumption Score (female-headed) Improved access to livelihood assets has FCS: percentage of households with poor Food Consumption Score (male-headed) contributed to enhanced resilience and reduced FCS: percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (female-headed) risks from disaster and shocks faced by FCS: percentage of households with acceptable Food Consumption Score (male-headed) targeted food-insecure communities and Diet Diversity Score (female-headed households) households Diet Diversity Score (male-headed households) CSI (Asset Depletion): Percentage of female-headed households with reduced/stabilized Coping Strategy Index CSI (Asset Depletion): Percentage of male-headed households with reduced/stabilized Coping Strategy Index CAS: percentage of communities with an increased Asset Score

FCS: percentage of households with borderline Food Consumption Score (female-headed) FCS: percentage of households with borderline Food Consumption Score (male-headed) Outcome SO3.3: NCI: Food security programmes National Capacity Index Risk reduction capacity of countries, NCI: Resilience programmes National Capacity Index communities and institutions strengthened Output SO3.1: Number of women, men, boys and girls receiving food assistance, disaggregated by activity, beneficiary category, sex, food, non-food items, Food, nutritional products, non-food items, cash transfers and vouchers, as % of planned cash transfers and vouchers distributed in Quantity of food assistance distributed, disaggregated by type, as % of planned sufficient quantity and quality and in a timely Quantity of non-food items distributed, disaggregated by type, as % of planned manner to targeted beneficiaries Total amount of cash transferred to targeted beneficiaries, disaggregated by sex and beneficiary category, as % of planned Output SO3.2: Number of assets built restored or maintained by targeted households and communities, by type and unit of measure Community or livelihood assets built, restored or maintained by targeted households and communities Output SO3.3: Number of government counterparts trained in collection and analysis of food and nutrition security data National systems for monitoring trends in food Number of food security and nutrition monitoring/surveillance reports produced with WFP support security and nutrition strengthened Output SO3.4: Human capacity to reduce risk Number of people trained, disaggregated by sex and type of training of disasters and shocks developed SO4: Reduce undernutrition and break the intergenerational cycle of hunger Outcome SO4.1 Enrolment (girls): Average annual rate of change in number of girls enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools UNDAF Outcome: MOE and its institutions Prevalence of acute malnutrition among children under 5 (weight-for-height as %) achieve higher performance in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), formal and non- Prevalence of stunting among children under 2 (height-for-age as %) formal education in line with the School Sector Enrolment (boys): Average annual rate of change in number of boys enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools Reform Plan (SSRP). Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among children under 2 (%, Hb<110g/L) Attendance rate (girls) in WFP-assisted primary schools Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among lactating women (%, Hb<120g/L) Attendance rate (boys) in WFP-assisted primary schools Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among pregnant women (%, Hb<110g/L) Outcome SO4.2 Enrolment (girls): Average annual rate of change in number of girls enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools Increased equitable access to and utilization of Enrolment (boys): Average annual rate of change in number of boys enrolled in WFP-assisted primary schools education Attendance rate (girls) in WFP-assisted primary schools Attendance rate (boys) in WFP-assisted primary schools Outcome SO4.3 Proportion of eligible population who participate in programme (coverage) Reduced undernutrition, including Proportion of children who consume a minimum acceptable diet micronutrient deficiencies among children aged Prevalence of stunting among targeted children under 2 (height-for-age as %) 6-59 months, pregnant and lactating women, Prevalence of underweight among targeted children under 2 (weight-for-age as %) and school-aged children Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among children under 2 (%, Hb<110g/L) Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among lactating women (%, Hb<120g/L) Prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) among pregnant women (%, Hb<110g/L)

MAM treatment mortality rate (%) MAM treatment default rate (%) MAM treatment non-response rate (%) MAM treatment recovery rate (%) Outcome SO4.4: NCI: School Feeding National Capacity Index Ownership and capacity strengthened to reduce undernutrition and increase access to education at regional, national and community levels Output SO4.1: Number of institutional sites assisted (e.g. schools, health centres), as % of planned Food, nutritional products, non-food items, Quantity of food assistance distributed, disaggregated by type, as % of planned cash transfers and vouchers distributed in Number of women, men, boys and girls receiving food assistance, disaggregated by activity, beneficiary category, sex, food, non-food items, sufficient quantity and quality and in a timely cash transfers and vouchers, as % of planned manner to targeted beneficiaries Number of feeding days, as % of planned Output SO4.2: Proportion of women/men receiving nutrition counselling supported by WFP, against proportion planned Messaging and counselling on specialized Proportion of women/men beneficiaries exposed to nutrition messaging supported by WFP, against proportion planned nutritious foods and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices implemented effectively Output SO4.3 : Number of technical assistance activities provided, by type Policy advice and technical support provided to enhance management of food security, nutrition and school feeding

Annex 6: Reflections on livelihoods, food security, and public works in the Mid and Far West districts This annex has been compiled by the evaluation team, drawing on two pieces of recent research in Mid and Far Western districts: an assessment of public works programmes in the Karnali Region,47 based on research in Jumla and Kalikot; and a large baseline survey carried out in 2013 by the Rural Access Programme third phase (RAP3) MEL component covering 3,200 HHs in Humla, Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Bajura, Dailekh, Doti and Achham.48 The RAP baseline sought to compare different groups and intervention areas. This summary presents some findings that the evaluation team found helpful for placing the RCIW programme in context.

1. The Mid and Far West districts The Mid and Far West districts are under-researched areas of the country, mainly due to the relatively low populations compared to other regions and hence small numbers of households featuring in national level surveys such as the Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS).

Due to the poverty profile in these districts, several major Public Work Programmes (PWPs) have been working there for many years – with some having been initiated during the conflict period. Major initiatives include RAP 3; the Rural Community Infrastructure Programme (RCIW) of WFP; the Decentralised Rural Infrastructure and Livelihood Improvement Project (ADB and Swiss supported); the Community Irrigation Programme (CIP) managed by DoLIDAR; the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), and DDC grant-based projects. Other programmes such as Local Governance and Community Development Programme (LGCDP) and the Community Development Programme of Rural Reconstruction Nepal have a major focus on improving local governance but also often include infrastructure initiatives and some degree of waged works for targeted communities.

2. Rural Household Profile from the RAP baseline Poverty The overall poverty rate across the sample is 53 percent and this is consistent with poverty estimates for this region in national statistics. Poverty rates range from around 70 percent for the Dalit caste to around 50 percent of Brahman and Chhetri and just 36 percent of Thakuri. The three upper caste groups have significantly higher average predicted consumption than the Ethnic Group category and Dalit castes. Within the upper caste groups, predicted consumption was significantly higher for the Thakuri caste than the Chhetri caste. There are significant differences in average predicted consumption levels across the region. Surprisingly, many of the more remote areas have the highest predicted household consumption, and a broad range of livelihoods activities. This pattern is

47 “Assessment of Public Works Programmes in Karnali Region” KEPTA July 2014 48 GoN MoFALD/DoLIDAR/UKAID RAP3 MEL Component Baseline Report June 2014. http://rapnepal.com/report- publication/hh-baseline-survey-report-0 The midline report is due to be published by end November 2016. 89 not consistent with generally-held belief that the outer, more remote zones have less economic opportunity and therefore lower household income potential. The qualitative study that accompanied the HH quantitative survey confirmed this conclusion, finding little evidence of personal income poverty in Humla in particular, with households engaged in a number of diverse cash income earning activities. It is also perhaps surprising that average incomes are higher in the RAP road building districts – “build districts” – (Humla, Mugu, Bajura and Kalikot), where road infrastructure is generally more sparse, than in the better connected RAP road “maintenance” districts (Jumla, Dailekh, Doti and Achham). The average HH size is around six members. Better-off households have significantly fewer members and a lower dependency ratio. Assets: Dalits tend to own fewer assets than other castes. Dalit and Chhetri households own the least land on average. The value of loans increases with income, probably because higher income households are better placed to secure loans and take on associated risk.

Access: Access to a range of services is not surprisingly considerably higher in the areas with existing road networks. Variations are particularly significant for access to secondary schools, hospitals and agricultural centres. There is a clear positive correlation between access and predicted consumption.

Figure 20: Kriged Predicts on Access